India captain Harmanpreet Kaur hailed the performances of Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh after her side registered a comprehensive 64\u2011run victory over Pakistan in their Women’s T20 World Cup opener at Edgbaston on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India had posted 170\/6, as Smriti top-scored with 68, before Deepti Sharma’s 5\u201110 and N Sree Charani’s 3\u201121 bowled out Pakistan for 106 in 17 overs. With this, India pocketed two points and a healthy net run rate of 3.20 from the statement win over Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“Whenever we need, they’re always there to push the team. So, really happy the way they both played today,” said Harmanpreet at the conclusion of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Reflecting on conditions at Edgbaston, Harmanpreet said, “Well, I think it was a decent pitch, but I think initially we unnecessarily put pressure on us. But after that, when Smriti and I were batting, we tried to control the game and then we got what we wanted.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked about Richa Ghosh’s blistering 34 off just 17 balls, Harmanpreet said, “If it’s in my hand, I would love to send her (to bat) on the first ball. But I think she has some role to play (lower down the order) and she’s doing really well and really happy with the way she played today.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On India’s fielding, Harmanpreet said she was fine with the effort, though there were a few missteps. “Cricket is a game of, if you catch every ball, if you take all the catches, you always win matches. And I think that’s what happened while fielding. We wanted to give ourselves to every ball and I was really happy with the way we fielded and overall game.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked about Richa Ghosh’s blistering 34 off just 17 balls, Harmanpreet said, “If it’s in my hand, I would love to send her (to bat) on the first ball. But I think she has some role to play (lower down the order) and she’s doing really well and really happy with the way she played today.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked about her fitness after hobbling late in the game, Harmanpreet reassured all is fine. “I’m fine. Thank you very much. Definitely very happy and firstly, I want to thank all Indian fans. They’ve been amazing. They’ve been there for us. So, we really, really want to thank them.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n