Shifting to T20 from ODI wasn't easy but we want to raise the bar: Harmanpreet Kaur
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on Tuesday acknowledged shifting from ODIs to T20Is was tough, but said the 5-0 series win over Sri Lanka has given her side the motivation to raise its standards ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.
The five-match T20I series was India’s first outing after winning the 50-over World Cup in November, and they blanked a hapless Sri Lanka to underline their form and skill sets across white ball formats.
“2025 has been great for us. All the hard work we have done, this year we have got the credit. Now, it’s about repeating these habits. Going forward, we want to look at this series and think of what we can do ahead,” Harmanpreet said during the post-match presentation.
Sri Lanka challenged India at various junctures, but India managed a 15-run here on Tuesday in the fifth match to wrap an excellent outing for them.
“Shifting to T20 from ODI wasn't easy but everyone was excited to play. We fought for this and were happy how all things came together. Next is WPL which is important for all of us.
“Hopefully, we play our best cricket and enjoy ourselves. Next six months are important, we want to keep working hard and raising the bar,” she added.
The 36-year-old said the dressing room talks were centred around improving the strike-rate.
“All of us have played a lot of T20 cricket together. It was about believing we can do that. Sir (head coach Amol Muzumdar) spoke about strike rates and lifting the standards. Everyone was happy and we wanted to set that standard,” she said.
Shafali Verma, who was adjudged Player of the Series after hammering three fifties in a row, said she has been working hard on her game.
“My work throughout the year has paid off. I will ensure that I don't make the mistake I did today (getting out for 5). I will work harder and come back the next time.”
The opener said T20 is her favourite format. “Both are different games. In ODI you have to play along the ground. T20 is my favourite, day by day I am improving and I will become a better player for the team,” she noted.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu conceded that her side was not able to produce its best in the series.
“We are not playing our best cricket. We have to improve our power-hitting and batting. Some youngsters played well in the middle. We are looking forward to playing our best cricket in the next few months.”
“We played good cricket 6-7 months ago. Our coach asked us to play freely. Some of the batters executed the right plans in the middle. We gave India a fight but unfortunately we lost” said Athapaththu.
Athapaththu said SL will have a lot to ponder before next year’s T20 World Cup.
“A few seniors are here with me, they are playing well but we aren't playing our best cricket as seniors. Some youngsters have taken their opportunities. We have to think a lot before the T20 World Cup,” she added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
