Harmanpreet Kaur credited the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for helping players get ready for the international stage after India clinched the T20 series against England in Manchester.
India registered a six-wicket win in the fourth T20I to take a 3-1 lead and seal its first-ever women’s T20I series victory against England.
“We are really grateful that we were able to do this (series win). I’m really proud of my team the way we played this series. It was really important to get that momentum and I’m really happy with the way we all contributed,” Harmanpreet said at the post match presentation.
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The WPL concluded its third season earlier this year, with several young Indian talents making a mark and earning national call-ups. Harmanpreet acknowledged the tournament’s impact.
“We have now played three seasons of WPL. We’ve got a lot of experience from that. All of us played that tournament and we got a lot of positivity. Good sign that we are now able to execute in international cricket also.”
The ‘Women in Blue’ set the tone from the opening match with a record-breaking 97-run win and followed it up with another victory in Bristol, by 24 runs, marking England’s first-ever women’s T20I defeat at that venue.
“We had very good camps back home before coming here. We worked on all our plans, accordingly we have executed everything here. Everybody knew their role and accordingly we all played,” Kaur said.
On Wednesday, India’s spinners dominated the proceedings, restricting England to a modest 126 for seven, which the visitors chased down with three overs to spare to seal a memorable win.
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Stand-in England skipper Tammy Beaumont, leading the side in the absence of an injured Nat Sciver-Brunt, admitted her side was outplayed.
“Credit to India, they assessed conditions quickly. It was always going to be tough defending that score,” Beaumont said.
“We needed to get around 150 to have a chance. In a chase like that, you’ve got to get everything right; we just didn’t tonight. We weren’t ruthless with the bat, myself included, absolute soft dismissal, not good enough at this level.”
Looking ahead to the fifth and final T20I on July 12, Beaumont said the hosts were keen to bounce back. The two teams will then compete in a three-match ODI series starting July 16 in Southampton.
“We want to put on a show for the home fans. We haven’t put in a complete performance yet. Missing a couple of key players. The team is in a bit of a transition, and we’ll try to make it 3-2.”
