Manchester, June 21 (IANS) India captain Harmanpreet Kaur rued missed opportunities in the field after her side suffered a six‑wicket defeat to South Africa in the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, saying it was unfortunate that they weren’t able to take a couple of chances, but stressed on the need to stay positive with two league stage matches still to play.

In their defence of 158/7, India didn’t have the best fielding performance – Tazmin Brits was dropped on 18 while Marizanne crucially was given reprieves twice on 25 and 65 by substitute fielder Radha Yadav. The duo toyed well with India’s field placements and hit boundaries at will, with Marizanne staying unbeaten on 81 to give South Africa a memorable win and hand India their first defeat in the competition.

“I think we got a couple of chances in between, but unfortunately we weren’t able to take those chances. But I still think we have two matches to go, and this is the time to stay positive and think about those matches. I think we always talk about how we have to take opportunities at this level, but unfortunately we were not lucky enough today.

“But I think still we have another two games, and now this is the time to think about those games. Next match (against Bangladesh in Manchester on Thursday), I think we still have two, three more days, and we will sit and rethink what we have to do, and accordingly we will pick the eleven,” said Harmanpreet at the conclusion of the game.

She praised the efforts of young spinners Sree Charani and Shafali Verma, who were amongst the wicket-takers for India. “I think Shree Charani and Shafali bowled really well. They were creating challenges, but unfortunately other bowlers didn’t support them,” noted Harmanpreet.

Harmanpreet acknowledged the importance of Marizanne hitting a match‑winning 81 not out. “She was brilliant today. She took the game away from us, but again I think she gave us two crucial chances, but unfortunately we didn’t take that. But I think at this level when you miss those chances, nobody’s going to, you know, give you anything easily. And I think those were the crucial moments and they took the game away from us.”

On using spinners extensively, Harmanpreet explained, “If you’re bowling, the ball was a little bit turning. If you use your finger spinners really well, then I think Shafali and Sree Charani did really well. And other spinners need to think about, like, how we have to bowl, especially on these kind of wickets.”

Reflecting on her landmark 200th T20I and the learnings picked along the way, Harmanpreet said, “A lot of learning, a lot of, you know, positive moments, a lot of these kind of moments where you have to stay strong and stay positive and keep thinking about the game.

“This is what the game has taught me. And I think this is, now this is the time to stay positive and keep thinking about what you need to do in the upcoming games. And I think this is the time for me to talk to my teammates, give them strength, give them positive talks. And hopefully we will come up as a group really well in the next two games.”

–IANS

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