Smriti Mandhana assures captain Harmanpreet Kaur 'will be fine soon'

TOI Sports Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Dec 16, 2024, 09:12 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

India defeated West Indies by 49 runs in the first women's T20I in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Harmanpreet Kaur left the field due to an unspecified reason, but her deputy Smriti Mandhana confirmed she was recovering. Mandhana's 54 and Jemimah Rodrigues's 73 propelled India to 195/4.

Smriti Mandhana assures captain Harmanpreet Kaur 'will be fine soon'

Harmanpreet Kaur (Photo source: X)

India's impressive 49-run win over West Indies in the first women's T20I on Sunday in Navi Mumbai saw their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur leaving the field, but her deputy Smriti Mandhana confirmed later that the captain was recovering and receiving medical attention, without elaborating on it.
Harmanpreet scored 13 not out in India's total of 195 for 4, but remained absent on the field during the Windies' run-chase, with Mandhana taking over the leadership duty.
Mandhana's 33-ball 54 and Jemimah Rodrigues's 73 off 35 balls powered India to a big total.

"She (Harmanpreet) is doing fine. She is being taken care of by the medical team and hopefully will be fine soon," Mandhana said after India's win, but didn't provide any more details about Harmanpreet's illness or injury.
Talking about India's batting effort, Mandhana commended fellow opener Uma Chetry in their 50-run opening stand: "Uma came in and got us off to a good start, Jemi came in and continued that."
Indian bowlers then restricted the West Indies to 146 for 7, with Titas Sadhu leading the bowling charts with figures of 3 for 37, while Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav took two wickets each.

"Credit to the bowlers with so much dew around. Even after winning we have to go back and review where we can be better, yes, we could have got 200 today," Mandhana added.
Jemimah, meanwhile, acknowledged the mental challenges of maintaining freshness whilst playing non-stop cricket since competing in Australia.
Following a 0-3 defeat in the ODI series in Australia, the Indian team had minimal preparation time after their final match concluded on December 11.

Talking about her knock, Rodrigues said: "Yesterday I had a chat with Smriti about how to pace my innings. My game plan was simple. Singles off every ball. Loose balls are a bonus. Sir had told me to bat through the end, so my plan was to take it five overs at a time.
"We could have pushed for another ten runs because we know what we get against the West Indies, because of Dottin and even Joseph. I am proud of the way we bowled with the dew."
The second T20I will be played on Tuesday.

About the Author

TOI Sports Desk

The TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the essence of live sporting events and deliver compelling content to readers worldwide. From running live blogs for India and non-India cricket matches to global spectacles featuring Indian talents, like the Chess World Cup final featuring Praggnanandhaa and the Badminton World Championships semifinal featuring HS Prannoy, our live coverage extends to all mega sporting events. We extensively cover events like the Olympics, Asian Games, Cricket World Cups, FIFA World Cups, and more. The desk is also adept at writing comprehensive match reports and insightful post-match commentary, complemented by stats-based articles that provide an in-depth analysis of player performances and team dynamics. We track news wires for key stories, conduct exclusive player interviews in both text and video formats, and file content from print editions and reporters. We keep track of all viral stories, trending topics and produce our own copies on the subjects. We deliver accurate, engaging, and up-to-the-minute sports content, round the clock.

End of Article