India and England captains Harmanpreet Kaur and Heather Knight were both disappointed as the lack of a reserve day after their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday (March 5) saw India reach the final despite having a play and on the virtue of having the highest points in the group league.
“It’s unfortunate we didn’t get a game, but there are rules and we have to follow it. Having reserve days in the future will be a great idea,” Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match was called off. “From day one we knew we have to win all the games because in case the semis don’t happen, that would be hard for us. In that sense, credit to the team for winning all the games.”
She further added that the team was looking forward to the final which is their maiden appearance as well.
“Everybody is looking in great touch – Shafali and Smriti in particular. They are giving us good starts, and that helps. Me and Smriti are trying to spend more time in the nets. We are looking more positive now,”she shared.
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“Unfortunately we haven’t come up with big innings, but our teammates are, and at the end of the day it’s a team game. First T20 World Cup final means a lot for us. But as a team, we just want to play our best cricket in the final. If we can play our best cricket, we will be in a good position. We know both South Africa and Australia have done well so far, so we are not thinking about the other team,” Harmanpreet Kaur added.
Heather Knight added that the washout was ‘frustrating’, gave the reason for their tournament-opening loss to South Africa that would eventually cost them a chance to reach to the final.
“It’s really frustrating. Not how we wanted the World Cup to finish for us. No reserve day, no chance of getting play, and ultimately that loss against South Africa cost us. Our aim was to get to the semifinals, which we eventually did. It’s all very English isn’t it, talking about the weather and getting knocked out. It felt that we gained a bit of momentum in the last few games and we were pumped up for the semi-finals,” Knight concluded.
