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On May 30, Harmanpreet Kaur returned to the T20I side after missing the series opener against England. In the second T20I of the series, India faced a comprehensive 26-run defeat as they faced troubles accelerating in the middle overs and the required run rate got out of reach. During the run chase, Yastika Bhatia was retired out after the top-order batter failed to find a boundary for four overs. With 60 runs needed off five overs, Jemimah Rodrigues walked in to bat but it did not lead to an acceleration. India scored 33 runs and lost six wickets in last five overs. After the defeat, Harmanpreet opened up on retiring out Yastika.
“Unfortunately, she wasn’t connecting the ball and we thought Jemi was someone who got runs in the last game and give her a chance. But I think that didn’t work for us,” Harmanpreet said in the post-match presentation.
Yastika was batting on 33 off 36 deliveries when she was sent back to the dugout.
The 'Player of the match' of first T20I couldn't get going as Freya Kemp dismissed Jemimah on the second ball she faced. As the move backfired, Harmanpreet was asked whether Jemimah should've batted up the order. The skipper said that she didn't think that she'll find herself in such a situation.
“Look, we never thought that this situation would come because Yastika batted really well in the first game and we thought she'll continue here. But it’s a game, sometimes you click and sometimes you don’t. It’s only about thinking what you have to do for the team,” the 37-year-old said.
Harmanpreet rues dot balls in middle overs
In the 18th over, Harmanpreet departed for a 22-ball 28. She cited playing too many dot balls and lack of strike-rotation in middle overs as reason behind falling short in the run chase.
“I think unnecessarily, we put pressure on us. When we were getting runs, we should have kept rotating the strike, but we played a lot of dot balls in between and that put a lot of pressure on us,” the veteran batting all-rounder said.
Freya’s all-round show
For England, Freya Kemp put an outstanding display. In the slog overs, she took the score to 168/5 with her unbeaten 13-ball 39 cameo, featuring a couple of sixes and four fours. Then, she claimed wickets of opener Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah in two overs she bowled.
The final of the three-T20I series will be played on June 2 in Taunton. It will work as a preparatory pressure game before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
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