India Women’s preparations for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup yielded mixed results in the warm-up fixtures, with a win over West Indies Women followed by a narrow five-run defeat to England Women. The team had also entered the tournament on the back of a 2–1 T20I series loss to England.
Despite the defeat in the warm-up game, Richa Ghosh’s explosive 68 off 36 balls emerged as a major positive for India. Chasing a target of 172, India fell just short, but Richa’s aggressive innings kept the contest alive until the very end.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted that the team lacked crucial partnerships during the chase.
“I think it’s about partnerships,” she said. “Only Richa played a blinder. In T20 cricket, you need a few partnerships in the middle, which we missed today.”
Harmanpreet, however, praised Richa’s innings and highlighted the confidence it gives the side ahead of the tournament. “It was good to see how Richa batted,” she said. “Even though we lost the game, her batting was a big positive for us. It gives us belief that if we stay at the crease, we can turn the game at any time.”
The India skipper also revealed that the warm-up matches served their purpose, allowing every player an opportunity before the campaign begins.
“We wanted to give everyone a fair chance before the first game, and I think everybody got one,” said Harmanpreet.
India will now turn their attention to their highly anticipated opening match against Pakistan on 14 June. Looking ahead to the clash, Harmanpreet said the team is excited by the occasion and confident after the preparation games.
“We are really looking forward to that,” she said. “These two practice games have given us a lot of confidence and hopefully we’ll play fearless cricket in our first game.”