India women vs Australia: Harmanpreet Kaur rues lack of match awareness by batters

India women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur lamented her side’s lack of match awareness during the middle overs in the loss against Australia in the second ODI at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. India looked to be in control of the proceedings as they chased 259 runs. However, the Indian batters lost momentum in the middle overs and eventually fell short of the target by mere three runs. “Stopping them under 300 was a positive. We knew we could’ve chased it but didn’t show enough awareness in the middle overs,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation. India were equally guilty of dropping as many as seven catches. “Dropped catches are part of the game. Important to bounce back.” With the win, Australia women’s cricket team have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. “We bowled really well. We knew we had to keep looking for wickets. Lots of positives. I know they took the game away. I’m proud of the team, the way we played. We needed a bit more awareness late in the chase. “Richa played really well, Jemi (Jemimah Rodrigues ) helped her in the middle.” Australia’s winning captain Alyssa Healy felt that their belief that they are in the game till the last ball helped them win. “I need a defib, got very close in the end. Credit to our girls to find ways to win in a tough situation. We felt a bit short with our score. Took some momentum with Alana’s hitting. “We lost many wickets late but took wickets and defended it. We just hang in there, something about Australian teams. We fight till the last ball. We still believed we can win till the last ball and that’s what made us successful.” Like India, Australia too were sloppy in the field and dropped catches. “Things didn’t go our way. We dropped catches and let ourselves down there but our energy has been unbelievable.” Healy, who has took over as Australia captain from Meg Lanning, stressed that the team has undergone  plenty of changes in the last year but a good domestic setup has helped. “People probably forget we’ve seen a lot of changes in the last 12-18 months, yet we keep producing players who are ready for international cricket. “They’re learning as they go out there but are still contributing. So, credit to our domestic system and the team culture,” she added.