Charlotte Edwards, the head coach of the Mumbai Indians, feels that her team’s failure to exert control during “the last 12 balls” cost them a berth in the Women’s Premier League final.
“You have to stay in there, as we have seen on this pitch. With the short boundary on that side, we would have taken 135 at the beginning of the game. “I felt that we dominated the game for the first 38 overs, but we lost control of the final 12 balls, which ultimately cost us a spot in the finals,” Edwards stated.
We must give RCB credit for their perseverance and ability to fight back; we will have to leave and examine. Sometimes the game is decided by slim margins; if Harman hits that for six, it’s our game. Sadly, tonight was not going to be the night. It’s more difficult for the players and incredibly discouraging. For many years to come, they will revisit those memories. The only thing disappointing me is how brilliantly we played. We played excellent cricket for 38 overs after the previous day’s performance, but we most likely let ourselves down in the final 12 balls.”
“They have all had opportunities throughout the season,” Edwards said in response to questions over the lower-order batting. The other day Sajana started the batting. Therefore, they have plenty of batting practice. Each of them has had some downtime. We did not lose today for that reason. Once more, we did not play the last 12 balls to the best of our ability. I’m pleased of the squad because we used the bat to maintain control and the ball to fight back rather effectively. It’s a narrow margin game, and regrettably, we lost.
We tend to forget fast that some of these guys, like Sajana, have only participated in domestic cricket. These athletes perform on the greatest stage possible. It’s the semifinal of the WPL. You want your best players present at the end of the game because pressure does have an effect on them. Today was not meant to be. The players will benefit from the experience, but it is difficult since we dropped a match that we ought to have won. Although the athletes in the locker room are currently in pain, they will undoubtedly become stronger and benefit from this.”
According to Edwards, “Harman’s wicket” was a turning point in the hotly contested game.
“Its effect on the RCB was evident. We would also support Harman in taking that shot. We are in control if it goes for six since we only need 12 in the final two. When she struck it, I felt like it had gone for six. We can pick and choose a lot of scenarios from today’s game with little margins, but in the end, we were in control and we let it slip.
“You simply have to support the athlete in doing what they believe is best in that particular circumstance. Given how well Harmanpreet Kaur has performed in this competition, who am I to advise her on what is appropriate? That is her strength and her shot at that moment. We would be seated if she hit that six, but even with that, we should still win because we only need 16 runs from the next two overs. It was a crucial point in the match.
Edwards described Harman’s behavior after the loss as “extremely calm.” She doesn’t say much. She stays quiet a lot. When she does talk, though, it’s well worth hearing. I adore working with her because of this. She gets along well with the players and is disappointed with how our competition finished today. Even if you haven’t played well, you can sort of handle it. However, I believe that we performed well today and corrected a lot of the previous day’s mistakes. However, it fell short of expectations, and therefore our tournament comes to a close.”
