India were cruising at 234\/3 before Smriti fell to Linsey Smith for 88 and from there, a familiar collapse meant they finished four runs short of chasing 289. \u201cI think Smriti's wicket was something which was a turning point for us and I still think we had too many batters. I don't know how things went the other way, but credit goes to England. They didn't lose. They kept bowling well and kept getting wickets there,\u201d said Harmanpreet at the conclusion of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The feeling of faltering in the final stretch was too hard to swallow for Harmanpreet. \u201cIt is bad because you have put in so much hard work and you kept ticking the box till the end, but last 5-6 overs didn't go according to your plan. That's the worst but definitely it's a very heartbreaking moment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe are playing good cricket, we are not giving up. But that last line we have to cross now because it's been the last three games where we showed up with good cricket. But unfortunately ended up on the losing side and hopefully the next game is very important for us and we'll cross that line,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She also lauded India\u2019s bowling effort, particularly in restricting England to 288\/8 on a fast-scoring ground. \u201cOur bowlers did a really good job because when Nat and Heather were batting, they were looking really good. And we thought if we can get them to less than 300, that's a plus for us because this pitch and the ground is very fast and we can chase, that's why we wanted to bowl first. A lot of things we did right. But again, last five overs, something which again we need to, as a group, sit together and rethink.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe are playing good cricket, we are not giving up. But that last line we have to cross now because it's been the last three games where we showed up with good cricket. But unfortunately ended up on the losing side and hopefully the next game is very important for us and we'll cross that line,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With India now on a three-match losing streak, Thursday\u2019s clash against New Zealand in Navi Mumbai becomes a virtual knockout. \u201cIt was a very important match for all of us. We wanted to show good cricket as a group. And unfortunately, in the end, we were not able to make it. Even though we ended up losing, we really played good cricket and we haven't given anyone anything easily. But now the next game is very important and hopefully it will go our way,\u201d concluded Harmanpreet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n