Smriti Mandhana, Team India vice-captain attended the press conference and she also opined on every aspect, especially Harmanpreet Kaur. She also opened up on the game as well as the series.
During her press conference, valiantly noted, “We would love to play a Super Over and I don’t think there was a question which was asked about Super Over to us. It was all decided. But we would’ve loved to play a Super Over. But yeah, I think, the kind of game that happened, I’m sure that it’s good for women’s cricket going forward.”
Smriti Mandhana stated after the exhilarating third ODI between India and Bangladesh on Saturday, July 22, at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, that the Indian team would have appreciated the opportunity to compete in a Super Over, given that the match ended in a draw.
The game was an emotional roller coaster, swinging back and forth and enthralling everyone till the very end. However, the lack of a one-over tiebreaker sparked debate and left the players discontented.
Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana also stated, “I think it’s just when you play for India, you want to win the match and it happens in the heat of the moment. But I think she wasn’t really happy with the decision given. And she felt that she wasn’t out. So that came about. But yeah, I just feel that it’s just the heat of the moment and nothing much.”
READ MORE: BAN vs IND: [WATCH] Harmanpreet Kaur Hits Stumps In Anger, Video Goes Viral
Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper, did not hold back her feelings during the post-match presentation ceremony, publicly lambasting the umpiring. She called the umpiring standards “pathetic” and conveyed her team’s discontent with several of the umpires’ decisions. The team, according to Kaur, would be ready for such problems the next time they tour Bangladesh.
Smriti Mandhana backs Harmanpreet Kaur
Harmanpreet Kaur was noticeably angry throughout the game, especially after the umpire called her out leg before wicket. She showed her displeasure by fighting with the umpire, slamming her bat, and smashing it into the stumps before walking away.
“Just knowing Harman (Harmanpreet Kaur) as a person and knowing her how much she wants to win for India, I’m sure from the spirit of the game, I wouldn’t say that it is (acceptable), but when you really want that on the board for India, these things happen,” Mandhana further added.
Smriti Mandhana commented on the absence of the DRS too, “I think in any match, sometimes it happens that you are really not happy with the kind of (decisions), and especially when there’s no DRS in a match, in a series of this kind.”
“We kind of expect a little better level. I would term it in a better level of umpiring in terms of some decisions because it was very evident, there was not even a second thought given when the ball was hitting the pad, when our batters were batting. And there’s not even one second thought given before the finger went up.
“But yeah, I think it’s all part and parcel and we will take everything in our stride. It is trying to be a little positive about everything, and I’m sure that the ICC, BCB and BCCI will definitely have a more of a discussion on that and maybe we can have a neutral umpiring system from next time so that we don’t sit here having these discussions and maybe we can focus more on cricket and cricket-oriented questions.”
READ MORE: Nigar Sultana Highlights Their Heated Argument With India Captain Harmanpreet Kaur
While refusing to comment on Harmanpreet Kaur’s alleged comments to match officials urging them to come alongside the players when the trophy was handed over, Mandhana defended her captain’s decision not to face the media.
She noted, “I think we are no one to really sit down and decide on ban or anything. I’m sure there’s an ICC panel and umpiring panel who have the right to decide on all of those things and I’m sure they will. And so, I wouldn’t really comment anything on it because it’s not right from a player that I comment anything on it.”
Quoting on the positives from the match and the series all-together, she said, “I think lots of learning for us. We’ve assembled as a group, I think post-T20 World Cup together as a team. And we really wanted to play a good brand of cricket.”
She added, “There’s a lot of positives, a lot of learnings as well for the whole team in terms of what we can do better and how to adapt quickly to the conditions more. And if you take positives, I think the way Harleen batted today I think is a big, big positive.”
“The way Amanjot bowled, the way Jemimah batted in her one-days. I think she’s coming back in one day after two to three years. And even the T20 series, we had different match winners. So that is a big takeaway and positives from this series, and a lot of learning as well. And I’m sure that we’ll sit down as a team and really try and work on it,” she concluded the presser.
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