Richa has always been outstanding for us – Harmanpreet Kaur

India fell to their first defeat of the ongoing ICC Women's ODI World Cup as South Africa outlasted them in a thrilling chase in Visakhapatnam. A Richa Ghosh knock (77-ball 94) - her highest score in ODIs and arguably one of the knocks of the tournament so far - powered India to a fighting 251 from a situation where they were struggling at 102/6.

However, despite the Indian bowlers making early inroads and making life difficult for the South African batters, a resilient showdown laced with powerful strikes from Nadine de Klerk saw the Women in Blue drop the ball at the end.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur opened up on the game while heaping praise on both sides. She also had very special plaudits reserved for Richa, who spearheaded the Indian turnaround after an early stutter. She also highlighted the components that cumulated into India’s slide earlier in their innings.

Talking about the game at the post-match presentation, Harman said, “Tough game. Both teams played really well. Even though we collapsed while batting, we still managed to put 250 on the board. In the end, Chloe and de Klerk batted really well, they showed it was a very good pitch and they deserved to win with the way they batted.”

Delineating the Richa dynamics in the game, Kaur added, “Richa has always been outstanding for us. She is someone who can always turn the game. And today the way she was hitting, we all were very pleased to see that. She is someone who can always hit those big sixes and get a big total on the board. And I think today she played it really beautifully. Hopefully, she will continue.”

Shedding light on the game, Harmanpreet said, “As a top-order we did not take responsibility and lost too many wickets, we need to go back to the process. We kept losing wickets when we were in the middle. But a lot of learning for us because in the last few games we have been making the same mistake. I think as a group we need to sit and discuss which things can work for us to get a decent total on the board.”

She concluded by saying, “It's a long tournament. I know today was a tough game for us. But a lot of learning and a lot of positives to see. As you mentioned, we have good games coming up. The important thing is to keep ourselves in a positive frame of mind and keep doing the right things, keep improving day by day.”