Birmingham, June 14 (IANS) India captain Harmanpreet Kaur hailed the performances of Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh after her side registered a comprehensive 64‑run victory over Pakistan in their Women’s T20 World Cup opener at Edgbaston on Sunday.

India had posted 170/6, as Smriti top-scored with 68, before Deepti Sharma’s 5‑10 and N Sree Charani’s 3‑21 bowled out Pakistan for 106 in 17 overs. With this, India pocketed two points and a healthy net run rate of 3.20 from the statement win over Pakistan.

“Whenever we need, they’re always there to push the team. So, really happy the way they both played today,” said Harmanpreet at the conclusion of the game.

Reflecting on conditions at Edgbaston, Harmanpreet said, “Well, I think it was a decent pitch, but I think initially we unnecessarily put pressure on us. But after that, when Smriti and I were batting, we tried to control the game and then we got what we wanted.”

Asked about Richa Ghosh’s blistering 34 off just 17 balls, Harmanpreet said, “If it’s in my hand, I would love to send her (to bat) on the first ball. But I think she has some role to play (lower down the order) and she’s doing really well and really happy with the way she played today.”

On India’s fielding, Harmanpreet said she was fine with the effort, though there were a few missteps. “Cricket is a game of, if you catch every ball, if you take all the catches, you always win matches. And I think that’s what happened while fielding. We wanted to give ourselves to every ball and I was really happy with the way we fielded and overall game.”

Looking ahead, Harmanpreet stressed on the importance of net run rate. “Every league game is important and I’m really happy we won today because that is something, which is going to help us (at the) end of the league games.

Asked about her fitness after hobbling late in the game, Harmanpreet reassured all is fine. “I’m fine. Thank you very much. Definitely very happy and firstly, I want to thank all Indian fans. They’ve been amazing. They’ve been there for us. So, we really, really want to thank them.”

–IANS

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