Smriti Mandhana’s emotional confession after India World Cup heartbreak – ‘I’m going to blame myself’ | Cricket News
India: Moments after India suffered a heartbreaking four-run defeat to England – even as they seemed headed for an easy victory at one point – star opener Smriti Mandhana did not hesitate to raise her hand and take some of the blame for India’s spoiling of the chase in a crucial Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 match at the Holkar Stadium on Sunday.Placed at 234 for three in the 42nd over, the tournament hosts looked headed for victory with Mandhana, who scored 88 off 94 balls, at the crease chasing England’s total of 288 for eight. They had seven wickets in hand and needed just six runs per over when the dashing left-hander bowled in the deep to Alice Capsey off Linsey Smith – marking the start of a complete shift in momentum that saw India manage just 50 runs in the last 52 balls while losing three wickets.
Staging a magnificent comeback, England have qualified for the semi-finals, while India – whose World Cup campaign is fast falling apart – must now win their two remaining matches, against New Zealand on October 23 and Bangladesh on October 26 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, to stay in contention.There was still hope ahead of the final with 14 runs required and Amanjot Kaur and Sneh Rana at the crease, but Smith conceded just nine.“I mean, it fell apart – everyone saw it. I think everyone’s shot selections at that time could have been better. It started with me, so I guess the shot selection should have been better. We just needed six (runs) per over and maybe we should have gone deeper into the game,” a dejected Mandhana said after the match.Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 70 and shared a 125-run partnership in 122 balls for the third wicket with Mandhana, also felt the dismissal of the Indian vice-captain was the turning point in the chase.“I think Smriti’s wicket was a turning point for us, and I still think we had too many batters. I don’t know how things went the other way, but credit goes to England – they continued to bowl well and get wickets there,” Harmanpreet said during the post-match presentation.Finding it hard to swallow the feeling of hesitation in the latter part of a match that they had in hand most of the time, Harmanpreet said: “It’s bad because you worked hard and kept ticking the boxes till the end, but the last 5-6 overs didn’t go as planned. It’s the worst, but it’s definitely a very heartbreaking moment.“We are playing good cricket; we are not giving up. But that last line, we have to cross it now because these are the last three matches where we have presented good cricket,” she added.Questions were also asked about the composition of the Indian team for the crucial match against England, with India leaving out Jemimah Rodrigues to accommodate pacer Renuka Singh Thakur. This meant that India entered the match one batter short. Standing firm on her decision, Harmanpreet said: “These things will continue because I think things were under control when Smriti and I were batting. And I think Smriti’s wicket was the turning point for us. But we still had Richa, Amanjot and Deepti, who have won matches for us in the past. But unfortunately today we couldn’t make it.
Survey
Who do you think was the crucial factor in India’s defeat against England?
It is evident that India are too dependent on explosive wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, who was out for an eight-ball 10, for big hits while finishing off the innings. However, Mandhana defended the lower order which saved India in the first two matches of the competition against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. “I mean, sure, Richa has been good for us, but I wouldn’t say it’s all down to her. We just needed 6.5 per over – it’s not like we needed nine. The final game was a lot to ask, but we saw Aman (Amanjot Kaur) do that in the WPL (Women’s Premier League), and Sneh (Rana) was brilliant in the last few overs with the bat for us in the first three or four matches. We will all take it upon ourselves that we could have done better in the last six overs,” she said.Despite India suffering three consecutive defeats – all against SENA countries – Mandhana backed his team to bounce back in their next clash in the tournament against the White Ferns on Thursday. “Nothing in cricket is easy. Of course, the next match will be a virtual quarter-final to get into the top four, and you don’t play cricket to have easy days. We will all take this in stride. We all know where we could have done better and where we went wrong. If you play a sport, you are supposed to have good days and bad days. It’s about knowing how to take those bad days and move on,” she said.
