Taunton, June 3 (IANS) India captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted that her side was only one wicket away from turning the game in their favour after England completed a six-wicket victory in the third and final T20I to clinch the three-match series 2-1 ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup .

Chasing 181, England were reduced to 53/3 inside the power play after India struck through Kranti Goud and Arundhati Reddy. However, a match-winning 137-run partnership between Alice Capsey (82) and Heather Knight (70 not out) guided the hosts to 184/4 in 18.3 overs and sealed the series.

Reflecting on the defeat, Harmanpreet said India had the game under control after the early breakthroughs but could not find the crucial fourth wicket that might have shifted the momentum.

“I think for us it was only a matter of getting one more wicket. I think we were in the game. We got three early wickets, and we were just thinking about one more wicket, but because they both played really well, they took the game away from us,” Harmanpreet said after the match.

Despite the loss, the India skipper drew encouragement from her team’s overall performance in the series and believes there are several positives to carry into the World Cup, which begins on June 12.

“I think a lot of positives, except for that wicket which we were looking for. I think there are a lot of positives going forward for the World Cup,” she said.

The captain also indicated that the team management has largely settled on its preferred playing XI for the global tournament, although a couple of practice matches before the World Cup will provide opportunities to assess other options in the squad.

“I think we are pretty much clear, and still we have two more practice games before the World Cup where we can think about other combinations. Radha is there; she did really well in the WPL and feels ready. Apart from her, Bharti Fulmal is also there. She is a middle-order batter and has batted really well.

“Still, we have two very good players who are sitting out, and hopefully we will give them a fair chance in the practice games. I think we are pretty much clear about what our XI is going to be going forward,” Harmanpreet added.

India had arrived in England well ahead of the tournament to get a good sight of the local conditions, and Harmanpreet believes the early move has already started paying dividends.

“The idea behind coming here early was to get used to these conditions. I think we are pretty much getting used to these conditions, and hopefully we will get whatever we need from them,” she said.

India will now turn their focus to the upcoming warm-up fixtures before beginning their campaign at the Women’s T20 World Cup, aiming to build on the positives despite the series defeat.

–IANS

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