IND-W vs ENG-W LIVE, T20I 2nd: Live scoreboard update, commentary: Smriti Mandhana almost half a century

MATCH PREFERENCE

After a poor performance in their opening match against England, the Indian women’s cricket team will head for a much-improved batting effort in their second T20I match here on Tuesday.

The first match at Chester-le-Street saw Indians play against British bowlers.

“We discussed a few things after the first game. Obviously we haven’t played the brand of cricket that we’ve been playing in the last few months. We really need to match the standards of what we have achieved in the past. It’s a bit disappointing but it’s just another bad day,” opener Smriti Mandhana said in his pre-match press conference.

‘We need to improve our batting in the middle’

Mandhana repeats what Captain Harmanpreet Kaur had to exclaim after his first loss about inappropriate conditions at Chester-le-Street but admits that the team really needs to improve on their batting, especially in the midfield.

“Yes, conditions were not good in the first game and there were patches off the field as well. But, we won’t use it as an excuse. We need to improve our batting between the 12th and the 18th. That’s something we didn’t do in the first game.”

Mandhana admits that a tasteless approach from the Indian smashers led to a disappointing performance and aims to put the score in the 160-170 range if they beat a quality team.

“By today’s standards of T20 cricket, we have to score around 160-170 to be on the safer side. But that also depends on the nature of the wicket,” says Mandhana.

“Winning the CWG (Commonwealth Games), I feel like Harman, Jemimah (Rodrigues) or it’s my responsibility to get the team through to round 20. But since it’s T20 cricket, we’ve brought in guys like (Dayalan) Hemalatha and Kiran (Navgire) into the mixture. However, you have to give them performance time to get to that level,” she added.

‘The medical team is still examining Radha’s injury’

Radha Yadav, whose diving attempt in England’s second chase in the first game resulted in a shoulder injury, looks unlikely for the second.

The 23-year-old left the field in agony and her departure also meant India was a low pitcher.

“The medical team is still checking Radha Yadav’s condition. We will only know about her readiness before the game,” said Smriti.