India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur acknowledged that the ICC Women's World Cup opener against Sri Lanka wasn't easy despite the hosts winning the match by a convincing margin of 59 runs in the end under DLS Method to log full points on Tuesday.
Sri Lankan veteran spinner Inoka Ranaweera's four-wicket haul, three in the 26th over, had India in all sorts of trouble at 121/5 and then 124/6. But Deepti Sharma (53) and Amanjot Kaur (57) fashioned a 103-run stand for the seventh wicket to give India a fighting total. Deepti then took three wickets as India won the rain-curtailed match of 47 overs per side with ease.
"It was not an easy game. We know that in ICC tournaments, every game is important and it’s going to be high-pressure. In middle overs, batters managed well, despite losing wickets. The way Amanjot and Deepti handled the situation, it was outstanding to watch. Really happy all the girls came together to try to win this game for the country. Having batting till number seven (eight) is biggest strength for us," she said.
Praising top-order batter Harleen Deol for her steady 48, Harmanpreet said, "Harleen's innings also played a big role for us." She said Sneh Rana and Deepti would be her go-to bowlers as the tournament progresses.
"Sneh Rana and Deepti's overs were crucial and we were hoping they keep giving us wickets, and they gave us breakthroughs whenever the team needed. Shree Charani's spell was also good to see. All did really well and what we were expecting," said the captain.
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Deepti, who was declared “Player of the Match” for her half-century and three wickets, said her century stand with Amanjot was the game changer. "It was a turning point. Because back-to-back wickets were falling. Wanted to have a long partnership and bat till the 47-48th over. The things that we had planned, we executed them. "No pressure at all because I am used to these types of innings and situations. Have played it in the past…and that partnership with Amanjot was important. I do not feel pressure, I enjoy my batting," she said.
"On this type of pitch, I believe in my stock balls, and try to bowl stump to stump, while backing my strengths. First match always sets the tone and there are a lot of positives from the match, and hopefully in the rest of the tournament, we can keep performing this way and keep winning this way," Deepti added.
Sri Lanka's fielding woes continued to dog them and their skipper Chamari Athapaththu said as much. "We executed our plans but we dropped a couple of catches, especially Amanjot Kaur's catch. We did three mistakes and it cost us. As a batting unit, we lost a couple of wickets early and in the middle overs, and that is where we lost this game. We are calm. I still have faith in my youngsters because they have won more games for us. If they can perform, we have definitely more chance to win games. I know the mistakes, if we can reset these plans, I know we can bounce back," said Athapaththu.
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