Durban: India batter Jemimah Rodrigues admitted that the visitors fell short with the bat despite laying a strong early foundation, while also pointing out key areas for improvement following their six-wicket defeat to South Africa in the opening T20I at Kingsmead.
“I feel, starting off in batting, we were around 15-20 runs short. With the kind of start we got, I think Shafali Verma, the way she batted was great,” Jemimah said in the post-match press conference, highlighting how India failed to maximise a brisk powerplay.
India had surged early before losing two quick wickets, but Jemimah and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur rebuilt the innings with a crucial stand. However, she conceded that the team couldn’t press on when it mattered most.
“Then two wickets falling in two overs, but then Harmanpreet Kaur and I getting that partnership back. I think when we had built that momentum and removed the difficult part of it, when time came to capitalise, we were not able to capitalise,” she noted.
Jemimah also pointed to challenging batting conditions in the first innings, but maintained that the total was below par, as she said, “And also, the conditions were a little bit tricky in the first innings. There was slight hold on the wicket. But yeah, definitely we were 15 runs short.” IANS
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