'We didn’t play our best cricket, they played better cricket than us' - Harmanpreet Kaur analyses India's loss versus New Zealand

Harmanpreet Kaur admitted that India didn't play their best game and New Zealand were the better team in match No. 4 of the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup 2024, which took place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Friday, October 4. The Women in Blue suffered a crushing 58-run defeat against the White Ferns to start their campaign.

New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine led from the front as her unbeaten 36-ball 57 helped her team post 160/4, the highest team total in the ninth edition of the marquee event. In the second innings, seamers Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu bagged four and three wickets, respectively to bundle out India for 102 in 19 overs.

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"We didn’t play our best cricket. Going forward, we know every game is important. We created chances but were not able to avail of them. They played better cricket than us, no doubt about that," Harmanpreet said in the post-match press conference.

Harmanpreet said that the Indian team has the experience of chasing 160-plus totals but felt that the loss of wickets at regular intervals deterred their progress

“We have chased many times 160-170, and we were expecting that on the board. While batting, we knew someone had to bat through, but we kept losing wickets.” Kaur said.

"We know this group is capable of better; this wasn't the start we were expecting, but we have to go from here," she concluded.

Harmanpreet Kaur acknowledges fielding debacle

India were not upto the mark on the field as misfields and dropped catches ruined the efforts of the bowling unit. Harmanpreet acknowledged that her team needs to work on their fielding ahead of the upcoming matches.

“Fielding mistakes were made, so that is a learning for us going forward," the 35-year-old mentioned.

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This defeat substantially reduces India's chances of qualifying for the semi-finals as they have to face Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in their remaining matches in Group A.