Harmanpreet Kaur’s knee injury became a big talking point after India’s six-wicket loss to Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series at Allan Border Field on Tuesday. The regular captain was hurt while fielding after being struck by a ball from Megan Schutt, but she showed great courage by continuing to bat despite the pain.
Smriti Mandhana on Harmanpreet's injury
Harmanpreet went on to score a fighting 53 off 84 balls before she was dismissed by Ashleigh Gardner. However, she did not return to the field during Australia’s chase, with Smriti Mandhana taking charge as stand-in captain for the rest of the match.
After the game, Mandhana sounded hopeful about her skipper’s recovery. "I haven’t seen her yet, but I think she’ll be fine," she said.
India had a shaky start with the bat earlier in the day. They lost two early wickets, which put them under immediate pressure.
Reflecting on that phase, Mandhana said, "We started with the bat with two wickets down, which is never easy. We did really well in terms of coming back."
Pratika Rawal and Shafali Verma were dismissed cheaply, leaving the responsibility on the middle order. Mandhana led by example with a steady half-century, while Harmanpreet’s determined knock helped rebuild the innings. Shree Charani then added a useful 43 towards the end, pushing India to 214. Still, it wasn’t enough, as the team was bowled out in the penultimate over.
Mandhana admitted the pitch was trickier than expected. "Wicket didn't play the way we thought it would," she said, explaining that the conditions made batting harder than they had planned for.
Despite the defeat, Mandhana remained positive. She made it clear that one loss would not shake the team’s confidence.
"We've been playing good cricket, so it's not like we’ll change much after one loss," she said.
She also stressed that the batters need to work together and put up a stronger total next time. “We have to come together as a batting unit and post a good total. But we won’t think about it a lot. We have two days, will reflect on it and come back stronger."
With the second ODI scheduled in Hobart on Friday, India will be hoping Harmanpreet recovers quickly and that the team can bounce back in the next match.