‘We could have learnt to put…’ – Smriti Mandhana opens up on what went wrong against Mumbai in Women’s T20 League

The action-packed Women’s T20 League 2023 at the Brabourne Stadium saw the Mumbai franchise extend its winning streak by thrashing Bangalore on Monday. In match No. 4, Mumbai defeated Smriti Mandhana and Company with ease, thanks to Hayley Matthews’ explosive knock.

In the overwhelming match at Mumbai, Matthews, who was effective with the ball, ended up scoring the most runs for Harmanpreet and Company. Following Bangalore’s second consecutive loss in the tournament, the game’s supporters and viewers quickly started a funny meme storm on Twitter.

It is a pretty short tournament and we can’t dwell on it: Smriti Mandhana

In their second match of the Women’s T20 League 2023, the Bangalore franchise was dismissed for 155 in 18.4 overs. Australian legend  Ellyse Perry was dismissed for 13 off 7 balls while skipper Mandhana scored 23 off 17 balls. Richa Ghosh (28), Kanika Ahuja (22), Shreyanka Patil (23), and Megan Schutt (20) all made significant cameos that helped Bangalore to a challenging total of 155 in the 20-over match.

All-rounder Matthews, who had emerged as the Mumbai franchise’s top bowler, troubled the Bangalore bowling unit and scored a quick-fire half-century to put an end to the run chase at the Brabourne Stadium. The West Indies opener led Mumbai to a 9-wicket victory over the Bangalore franchise with an unbeaten knock of 77. Matthews’ all-around performance against Bangalore earned her the Player of the Match award.

“We could have learnt to put down a better score. We have to accept this defeat and come back better. 2-3 batters got into 20s but could not make it count including myself. We do have a good bowling side, we have 6-7 bowling options and we can’t say much to the bowlers when the batters are not putting up the runs. It is a pretty short tournament and we can’t dwell on it, even in franchise cricket if you start winning then you can go on a run. Lots of positives in the form of Kanika and Shriyanka’s batting after the top order collapse, really happy with the way they batted,” Mandhana was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation.