Smriti Mandhana Admits Emotions Got the Better of Her After Sunday’s Loss Against England

India lost a close game against England on Sunday. It was a match that was looking under India’s control. However, the sudden collapse changed the entire result of the match. 

Chasing 289, India’s star batter, Smriti Mandhana, was playing quite decently. She was steering the batting innings comfortably until England got her out for 88 runs in the 42nd over. Her dismissal changed things for India, as incoming batters kept losing their wickets one after another.

After Mandhana got out, India slipped to 262 for 6 wickets. This key moment is still buzzing in the mind of the Indian batter, as she said that emotions got the better of her while chasing the target. She said that the shot selection of her team could be better, and the collapse eventually started with her dismissal.

"We could have done better with our shot selection. It started from me, so I will take it on myself that the shot selection should have been better. We just needed six runs per over. Maybe we should have taken the game deeper. I'll take it [upon] myself because the collapse started from me," said Smriti Mandhana.

The batter then added that taking on Smith looked like an option to her at that time. Based on such analysis, she decided to hit her over the covers, but eventually got out. It should be noted that England was bowling tight deliveries at that time, so Mandhana had to do something to break the shackles against the incoming pressure.

"I thought I could take her on. I was trying to aim more, over covers. I mistimed that shot. Maybe the shot wasn't needed at that time. I just needed to be more patient because throughout the innings I was trying to tell myself to be patient and not to play aerial shots,” said Smriti Mandhana.

She acknowledged that playing the shot was not a good idea, as emotions took control of her suddenly. She explained that these situations normally do not help anyone in cricket, as playing aggressively requires a thorough understanding of the prevailing match situation.

"The emotions took over for that one, which never helps in cricket. But walking back, I was pretty confident that we'll be able to get the win. But it's cricket, you can't ever think too far ahead. If you lose, I don't think [a good innings] means anything. I had to be a little more patient than I've been in the last two-three months," said Smriti Mandhana.

She further said that scoring 6.5 runs per over at the end was not a big ask, as multiple batters of her team are capable of doing that in tough situations. Mandhana then named multiple batters who have showcased their talent to nail such situations like Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana, and more others. Unfortunately, the execution of the players during that period wasn’t good, which is why England got the better of them.

"Richa has been good for us, but I wouldn't say that it's only dependent on her. We just needed 6.5 runs per over; it's not like we needed nine per over, so the finishing part was a lot to ask. We have seen Aman [Amanjot Kaur] do that in WPL and Sneh [Rana] has been brilliant in the last four-five overs with the bat for us in the first three-four matches. So, I wouldn't say that, especially this one, that it was only dependent on one player. We'll take it upon ourselves that we could have actually done better in the last six-odd overs," said Smriti Mandhana.

India now faces an uphill task to qualify for the knockout stages of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025. They need to win all the upcoming matches to keep their hopes alive, as other teams are also working hard to secure their place in the semifinals.