Women's Cricket
"I would take the blame on myself," says Smriti Mandhana after ICC World Cup loss to England
"I wouldn't want to talk about my innings. It doesn't mean anything because we lost," said Mandhana.
Smriti Mandhana overtook England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt to move back into pole position. (Photo credit: ICC)
India suffered their third straight loss at the 2025 ICC Women's World Cup as they fell short by four runs against England at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday.
The hosts were in cruise control with a well set Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma in the middle and needed just 55 runs from 53 balls to break their losing streak.
It was at this point that Mandhana had a lapse in concentration. The southpaw miscued a lofted shots off Linsey Smith straight into the hands of the long-off fielder, while looking to go over the extra cover region.
It was a error in judgement from the Indian vice-captain and the team lost the plot soon after.
"All of us could have done better with our shot selection," a dejected Mandhana, who scored 88 off 94, said in the post match press-conference.c
"It started with me, so I would take the blame on myself. We just needed 6 runs per over...maybe should have taken the game deeper," she added.
When further prodded on the quality of the innings she played, Mandhana refused to elaborate and said: "I wouldn't want to talk about my innings. It doesn't mean anything because we lost."
The loss has now put India in a must win situation in their next match. Their clash against New Zealand at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday will be a virtual quarter-final, to earn the final spot in the semi-finals.
