India defeated Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in 3rd T20I in Thiruvananthapuram. (PHOTO: CREIMAS FOR BCCI)
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Friday said the Women in Blue achieved their objective of adopting a more aggressive approach during the series win over Sri Lanka, keeping an eye on next year’s T20 World Cup.
India defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third WT20I to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Having already clinched their maiden ODI World Cup last month, India have now shifted focus to the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5 next year.
“It was a great series for all of us. That’s what we discussed after the World Cup that we have to raise our standard and be more aggressive in T20s because the World Cup is coming up so very happy with our overall performances.” Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation.
The skipper singled out the bowling unit for praise, crediting them for consistently restricting Sri Lanka to modest totals throughout the series.
“I think the contribution from our bowlers (has been a highlight) because in T20 cricket, the bowling is very important. Today we are in this position because of our bowlers so credit goes to them.” The skipper said the decision to rotate the bowlers in the series was a planned move and lauded pacer Renuka Singh Thakur for her impressive comeback spell of 4 for 21.
“First six overs, we know their top order was very important so today we wanted to go with Renuka because she can give us these breakthroughs.
“First over wasn’t something we expected but the way she came back and picked four wickets which was great,” Harmanpreet said.
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu admitted her side fell well short of the mark in the series, particularly with the bat.
“I feel we are not playing our best cricket throughout the tournament. As a batting unit we have struggled a lot so we need to improve there. We have played the best batting unit we have been using and we have tried some things with the bowling unit but we haven’t been able to work out.
“Imesha Dulani batted really good today and Kavisha (Dilhari) also batted well. These were the positives but we are still looking to try some players before the World Cup.”