Smriti Mandhana did not mince her words as she expressed her disappointment over India’s heartbreaking 4-run loss against England in the 19th match of the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup 2025.
Batting first, England posted a competitive total of 288/8 in the allotted 50 overs. Former captain Heather Knight once again impressed with the bat, scoring 109 runs off 91 balls with the help of 15 fours and a six. Opener Amy Jones did well with the bat too, scoring 56 runs to give her team a good start.
India face a heartbreaking loss
In reply, India finished their innings on 284/6. After losing two wickets for just 42 runs, India managed to recover thanks to a 125-run stand between Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur. At 167/2 in the 31st over, India were looking destined to win the match.
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The partnership was broken with Harmanpreet’s departure for 70 runs. Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma then further bolstered India’s position by adding 67 runs for the fourth wicket. When Mandhana was dismissed for 88 in the 42nd over, India were on 234/4 and looked set to win the match.
However, the Women in Blue failed to capitalize on their strong position and eventually fell short by four wins. It was India’s third defeat in a row in the tournament. While they are still in contention for the semifinals, they just cannot afford more slipups in their remaining matches.
Smriti Mandhana blames herself for India’s loss:
Speaking at the end of the match, Smriti Mandhana blamed herself for India’s failure to chase down the total. The Indian opener stated that it was her wicket that allowed England to claw their way back into the match as she expressed her disappointment over the loss.
“Yeah, for sure. I mean, we collapsed, and everyone saw that. I think our shot selections at that stage could have been better. Especially since it started with me, I take responsibility for that; my shot selection should have been smarter,” Mandhana said at the post-match press conference.
“We just needed six runs per over, and maybe we should have tried to take the game deeper. So, yeah, I’ll take it on myself because the collapse started from me,” she added.
It’s too soon now that we’ve had a get-together – Smriti Mandhana
Mandhana looked absolutely shattered after the defeat. The cameras caught her struggling to hold back her tears as India threw away a strong position in the match. Speaking further, she pointed out that the team needs to move on quickly from the defeat and focus on the upcoming match against New Zealand.
“It’s too soon now that we’ve had a get-together. But in cricket, nothing comes easy. For sure, the next match would be the virtual quarter-final in terms of getting into the top four. But yeah, you don’t play cricket to have easy days. We’ll all take this in our stride,” said Mandhana.
