No regrets, decision was for team, says Harmanpreet on Mithali Raj's omission
North Sound (Antigua), Nov 23 : The decision to drop a player of Mithali Raj's calibre backfired during India's humiliating semi-final loss to England in the World T20 but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that she has "no regrets" as it was decision taken keeping team's interests in mind.
Indian batting collapsed as they managed only 112 with eight wickets falling for 24 runs as the visibly upset veteran's blank stare sitting in the dug-out said it all.
At the toss, Harmanpreet said:"It's not about not selecting Mithali, it's about keeping a winning combination." The decision was questioned by former England captain Nasser Hussain and former Indian Test player Sanjay Manjrekar on air. However the Indian skipper defended her decision.
"Whatever we decided, we decided for the team. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, no regrets. I'm proud of the way my girls played through the tournament," Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Mithali's strike-rate was always an issue but considering that Taniya Bhatia hasn't been able to acclerate and Veda Krishnamurthy in poor form, the decision to drop a seasoned campaigner boomeranged on India.
The skipper said that she wanted someone to bat in the middle-order as Mithali's preferred position is opening and she didn't want to tinker with the combination ghat won against Australia.
"We did really well against Australia, and that is the reason we just wanted to go with the same combination," she explained at the press conference.
"She (Mithali) opens. We need someone after Smriti (Mandhana) and me who can bat for us. Sometimes you click, sometimes it doesn't click."
Harmanpreet agreed that the team was at least 30 runs short of what could possibly have been a winning target.
"Definitely, it was not enough to tell you, but still I had enough faith that, if we could have bowled better, we could've won the game," said Kaur.
"But it's part of the game sometimes. I think if we had 140-150 then definitely we would have won the game."
The Indian captain termed it as a learning curve for her young team.
"This is a learning for us because we are a young team. Sometimes you have to change your game according to the wicket. England bowled really well, read the wicket really well. It was not an easy total to chase, and our bowlers bowled really well. We stretched the match till the 18th over," Harmanpreet explained.
She did admit that mental strength in big games is an issue and her young team needs to garner a bit more of it.
"I think we are a young team and we still need to work on our mental strength. If we can work on how to play under pressure, that will change how we play these games."
England captain Heather Knight said that she was worried during Powerplay overs when Smriti Mandhana had gone on the offensive but lauded her spinner Kirstie Gordon and Sophie Ecclestone for bringing them back in the game.
"The match got away from us a bit in the Powerplay but the spinners bowled really well to bring us back. Kirstie has been outstanding on her first tour. Sophie, young spinner as well, has shown a lot of quality over the last year or so."
Knight said that she wasn't concerned about the form of her top players like Tammy Beaumont and Dani Wyatt because conditions for batting was challenging in St Lucia.
"I think the conditions have been very tricky in St Lucia and when we've come here, No worries at all about (the form of Beaumont and Wyatt). The final (against Australia) is going to be a great game, hopefully we'll have a great atmosphere and a brilliant game of cricket."
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Charred body of teen found after fire destroys over 100 shanties in Delhi's Rithala
New Delhi (PTI): A massive fire swept through a cluster of shanties in Delhi's Rithala area early on Thursday, killing a 17-year-old girl and destroying more than 100 huts that left dozens of migrant families homeless.
Firefighters pulled out the charred body of the girl who was initially reported missing after the fire.
The blaze that was reported to authorities at 4.15 am spread rapidly through the densely packed shanties, triggering panic among residents who rushed out of their huts to escape the flames.
Residents said the shanty cluster was home to migrant labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and other states who worked as daily wage workers in nearby factories, construction sites and small establishments.
The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) launched a large-scale firefighting operation and deployed more than 18 fire tenders to control the blaze.
After the fire was brought under control, firefighters recovered the charred body of a teenage girl from the debris.
"Teams reached the location soon after the call was received and began firefighting operations. The fire had already engulfed several shanties in the cluster," a fire official said.
Officials said the blaze spread quickly because the huts were built very close to each other and many contained highly inflammable materials such as plastic sheets, wooden planks and cloth.
Firefighters and local police personnel carried out rescue and cooling operations and managed to bring the fire under control by around 6.30 am.
"The fire had spread to more than 100 huts and a adjacent godown of paper rolls and cardboard and the doors and windows of some residential flats also caught fire. A 17-year-old girl charred body was also recovered. Her body was sent to BSA Hospital by PCR," the officer said.
Police said the girl has been identified and further legal procedures are underway.
Many families said they lost everything in the fire as they had to flee with no belongings during the fire.
"We ran out to save our lives when the fire started. Within minutes everything was burning. Our hut, clothes, money and documents -- everything has turned to ashes," said Ramesh Kumar, a labourer from Bihar who has been living in the area.
Another person from West Bengal, said the flames spread so quickly that people barely had time to wake their children and escape.
"We woke up to screams and saw fire everywhere. We somehow managed to take the children outside. We could not save anything from the hut. All our belongings are gone," she said.
Some residents were seen searching through the burnt remains of their huts in the hope of finding salvageable items. "We worked for years to build this small hut and collect household items. In just a few minutes, everything we had earned was destroyed," said a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh.
Police said the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and an investigation is underway.
