We were 30-35 runs short, says Harmanpreet Kaur post Windies T20 loss

Mulapadu (Vijaywada) [India], Nov. 19 (ANI): Harmanpreet Kaur, India's T20 skipper for the ongoing series against West Indies, has said that the team was 30-35 runs short which ultimately cost them the opening game played at the Dr. Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju ACA Cricket Ground here on Friday. Opting to bat first, India made a poor start to their innings as they lost openers Vellaswamy Vanitha and Smriti Mandhana cheaply for three and 11 runs, respectively. However, first drop Veda Krishnamurthy (unbeaten at 50) then joined forces with Harmanpreet (unbeaten at 68) and shared a solid 88-run stand for the third wicket to help India post a respectable target of 151 runs in their stipulated 20 overs. "When Veda (Krishnamurthy) and I were batting, we had a target of about 180 our mind. But we slowed down a bit after the loss of Veda's wicket. We fell about 30-35 runs short and that cost us in the end. Their batting strength is very good. They can easily clear the boundaries. So, keeping that in mind, I had told the bowlers that we are about 30 shorts short so we need to put in more efforts in the fielding and bowl tight. But I am disappointed that our fielding department let us down," she was quoted as saying by BCCI.tv. In reply, opener Stafanie Taylor led from the front as she struck a 51-ball 90 runs to help the Caribbean side chase down the target with five balls to spare. Shikha Pandey was the pick of the bowlers for India for his figures of three for 31. The Indian skipper asserted that the focus of the next game would be to lift their fielding. "Batting and bowling are two parts of the game where you can't guarantee (you will make runs or get wickets), but when it comes to fielding, you absolutely have to give your 200 hundred per cent. If we can improve our fielding, we'll be a good side. We need to work on our fielding," she said. India, who now went down 0-1 in the series, will play their second T20I against West Indies at the same venue on Sunday. (ANI)