Women's T20 Challenge: Smriti Mandhana Rues Poor Fielding, Harmanpreet Kaur Lauds Bowlers

Supernovas held their nerve in a thriller against Trailblazers, as both teams made it to the final of the Women’s T20 Challenge. From Chamari Athapaththu’s fireworks for Supernovas to Radha Yadav’s composed final over, the game had plenty of moments.

Here are the quotes from the post-match presentation.

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Smriti Mandhana, captain of Trailblazers:

“I think the way it went in the last 2-3 overs, the girls did pretty well to get us so close. It was a brilliant effort from Deepti and Harleen.

“There was quite a bit of dew around. After the first innings, I saw that. It would have been difficult for the spinners.

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“We were just looking to win the match. We didn’t think about the scenarios. We didn’t think about which team to play and all those stuff. Hopefully we can get the better of them in the finals.

“The way our bowlers bowled in the first match, this match would have been a wake up call for the bowlers and fielding unit. We gave extra 10-15 runs, and we’ll work on that before the final.”

Radha Yadav

“I just wanted to keep things simple and execute the plans in the last over. Just wanted to bowl to the field, that’s it.

“Harmanpreet’s support helped me a lot. There were a lot of thoughts but her support made it easier. Poonam Yadav is fit, but maybe she didn’t bowl because there were left handers.

“I like such situations. I dream that I play in such situations and execute well.”

Harmanpreet Kaur, captain of Supernovas

“It was very close, but hats off to our bowlers. They took the pressure and bowled to field.

“We were under pressure, but hats off to our girls. It was an amazing game.

“The way we started, we were thinking of more than 150 on the board. But it was defendable because this wicket was helping spinners especially if you bowled short. That’s what we were trying. I knew the total was not that big, so we needed to bowl at least 3 good overs.

“Both lefties were batting, so we thought we’ll go with offies and hold back Poonam Yadav. Otherwise she’s a great bowler, today we just went with the situation. Today there was hardly any dew.

“We’ll try our best in the final, our confidence is high after this match.”

Chamari Athapaththu, Player of the Match

“I played my natural game freely. I had to score runs because I’m a senior player in the team. I talk with the players and share my knowledge. I want cricket to improve all around the world so I share my knowledge with the Indian girls.

“This was a must win game for us. I was worried about the last 3-4 overs but finally we won, so I’m glad.

“We are a champion side. We know how champion sides behave, so we played as a champion team.”

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