India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted that senior batters Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues were looking for runs in the crucial clash against Australia, but could not convert their starts. She also said India did not perform well against the “good” teams in the ICC tournament.

Harmanpreet led from the front with a quickfire 56 off 27 balls, but the rest of the batting line-up failed to keep the innings moving at the same pace. India finished on a below-par 170/4, underlining the inconsistency that has troubled their batting unit throughout the tournament.

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India made a strong beginning through openers Mandhana, who scored 38, and Shafali Verma, who made 34. The pair added 66 runs for the first wicket, but their careful approach meant the scoring rate rarely pushed beyond seven an over. There were brief moments of aggression, including Shafali’s two sixes off Ashleigh Gardner and Mandhana’s consecutive boundaries off Kim Garth.

Speaking after the match, Harmanpreet Kaur said: “End of the day, we got a decent total on the board. In between when I was batting, I thought we were a little short, but the last couple of overs did the job. They were looking for the runs but could not do so.”

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She added: “If I have to think about the entire tournament, we did not do well against good teams. Against the best teams, your best always comes.  I think we need to rethink that.”

India reached 43/0 at the end of the power play, but failed to accelerate when the opportunity came. Shafali tried to lift the tempo, but lost her wicket while taking on Australia captain Sophie Molineux. Harmanpreet later said Australia bowled to their plans, and India could not get the finish they needed.