Harmanpreet Kaur: Poor Death Overs Batting Cost India Victory

A strong foundation laid by openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal wasn’t enough for India to secure a win against Australia in the Women’s World Cup, according to captain Harmanpreet Kaur. The pair built a formidable 155-run partnership, propelling India to 198/1 after 30 overs. However, the team’s momentum stalled significantly, losing nine wickets for just 138 runs and falling short of their full 50-over allocation. Kaur believes this lapse in the final overs cost them the match, estimating they were 30-40 runs lighter than they should have been. “Not batting well in the last six overs cost us,” Kaur commented during the post-match presentation. Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy played a match-winning innings of 142, guiding her team to a three-wicket victory with six balls to spare. Kaur highlighted the consistent performance of the openers while expressing concern over the batting collapse and the lower-order’s inability to replicate previous match-saving efforts. She also offered praise for the promising bowling display by N Shree Charani.