NEW DELHI: India captain Harmanpreet Kaur described her team’s narrow four-run defeat to England as “heartbreaking”, admitting that despite dominating large parts of the contest, they once again failed to cross the finish line in their Women’s World Cup group encounter on Sunday. With Smriti Mandhana scoring a fluent 88 and India needing just 56 runs off 54 balls with seven wickets in hand, they seemed on course for victory. But England fought back brilliantly, securing their fourth successive win and confirming a semifinal berth alongside Australia and South Africa.“Smriti’s wicket was the turning point for us. It’s a heartbreaking moment,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation.
While Mandhana and Harmanpreet were at the crease, India appeared in control, but neither could anchor the chase.Earlier, Heather Knight’s 109 had anchored England’s total of 288/8, before India fell agonisingly short at 284/6. Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith triggered a collapse, dismissing Mandhana against the run of play. Deepti Sharma’s composed fifty had kept India’s hopes alive after Mandhana’s departure, but Sophie Ecclestone’s dismissal of the all-rounder in the closing overs sealed England’s victory.“It’s a bad feeling when you have put so much hard work in but the last 5-6 overs didn’t go according to the plan,” Harmanpreet added. “We still had batters, but I don’t know how things went the other way. Credit to England. They didn’t lose hope, they kept bowling and getting wickets.”The defeat, India’s third in a row following losses to South Africa and Australia, has left the co-hosts and pre-tournament favourites on the brink of elimination. In all three matches, India had been in winning positions but failed to close out. Against Australia, they couldn’t defend 330, while South Africa chased down 251 despite being seven wickets down.“We are playing good cricket, we are not giving up, but have to cross the line. It’s been the last three games where we showed up with good cricket, but ended up on losing side,” Harmanpreet said. “Our bowlers did a really good job, because when Heather was batting they were looking very good. (We) did a lot right, but last five overs, we have to rethink.”India now face New Zealand in a must-win clash in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, followed by their final group match against Bangladesh on October 26. Victories in both, along with favourable results elsewhere, are crucial to keeping their semi-final hopes alive.“Next game is very important,” the India captain added.
