After back-to-back defeats in inaugural Women Premier League (WPL) 2023, Smriti Mandhana has admitted that her side was "below par" in the clash against Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians on March 6 at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.
After Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat first, RCB started off well but lost too many wickets and got all out for 155 in the penultimate over of the innings. MI did not break a sweat in chasing down the target with 34 balls to spare, thanks to Hayley Matthews (77) and Nat Sciver-Brunt's (55) unbeaten 114-run partnership for the second wicket.
"We would have loved to put up a better performance. We were below par. Will come back harder. There were two-three batters getting 20-30 runs, a few batters including me couldn't put up a good score," Mandhana said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"We will sit and talk and try to come up with a better performance. We had six-seven good bowlers. As batters we need to put up a good total on board.
"It's a pretty short tournament, we can't dwell on it. In franchise cricket, even after two losses we can turn it around quickly."
The opener also looked at the positives from the match. Kanika Ahuja provided the much-needed boost with a 22-run cameo. Shreyanka Patil was expensive with the ball but contributed with a 23-run cameo after big guns returned to the pavilion.
"Lots of positives in the form of Kanika and Shriyanka's batting after the top order collapse, really happy with the way they batted," the 26-year-old said.
While RCB are at the bottom of the table after two comprehensive losses, MI are one the top with two wins in a row.
"I think batting was the same, the bowling we did was better in the first game (against Gujarat Giants) than today. We still did well to keep them to small score.
"We just wanted to back ourselves and chase. Everyone in the team is just happy to do it their way and they're enjoying themselves," Harmanpreet said.
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