Women’s T20 WC: ‘We need to rethink how we play against good teams,’ says Harmanpreet after India’s exit

London, June 28 (IANS): India captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted her side needs to reassess its approach against top opposition after Australia’s record-breaking six-wicket victory at Lord’s knocked the Women in Blue out of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday.

Despite posting a competitive 170/4, courtesy Harmanpreet’s explosive 56 off 26 balls, India were unable to defend the total as Ellyse Perry (56) and Ashleigh Gardner (53 not out) guided Australia to the highest successful run chase in Women’s T20 World Cup history. The defeat ended India’s semifinal hopes, with Australia and South Africa progressing to the last four from the group.

Reflecting on the result, Harmanpreet felt India had put enough runs on the board but admitted the team once again failed to deliver against one of the tournament’s strongest sides.

“End of the day, we got a decent total on the board. In between when I was batting, I thought we were a little short, but the last couple of overs did the job. They were looking for the runs but couldn’t do so,” Harmanpreet said after the match.

The skipper acknowledged that India’s performances against stronger opponents had proved costly throughout the campaign.

“If I have to think about the entire tournament, we didn’t do well against good teams. Against the best teams, always your best comes. I think we need to rethink that,” she said.

Harmanpreet credited Australia for executing their plans well and felt India could not capitalise despite preserving wickets during their innings.

“They’re one of the best. I think they bowled according to their plans. We didn’t lose wickets, but at the same time, we didn’t get what we were expecting. It was a good game, but unfortunately, we didn’t get over the line,” she added.

Looking at the bigger picture, the India captain called for serious introspection, particularly over the team’s recurring struggles in crunch matches against elite opposition.

“As a group, we really need to rethink a lot of things, how we have to go against good teams, especially because sometimes we are in the game, but in the last few overs, we’ve been giving away heavy runs. And if we have to chase, then we are not able to get those runs while batting. So I think it’s been happening for quite a long time,” Harmanpreet said.

India finished their campaign with six points from five matches, while Australia and South Africa qualified for the semifinals with eight points each.

–IANS

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