Women's T20 World Cup 2023: "Dot balls are something which are already worrying us" - Harmanpreet Kaur

India women's team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has said the batting unit will work on reducing the number of dot balls ahead of the knockout stage of the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup.

The Women in Blue on Monday, February 20, qualified for the semi-final following their rain-affected five-run win over Ireland on the basis of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.

Smriti Mandhana's career-best 87 in T20Is helped India put up 155 for 6. Even though Ireland squandered four opportunities to dismiss the Indian opener, Mandhana was far better than her teammates in conditions where the wind blew ferociously.

India played 51 dot balls in their 11-run defeat against England in the previous game. The count dropped slightly to 41 when they faced a less experienced side in Ireland.

Speaking at a press conference after qualifying for the semis, skipper Harmanpreet stressed avoiding dot balls in their knockout game against defending champions Australia.

She said:

"Against England, we played too many dot balls. Things like that we have already been discussing in team meetings. But sometimes, when the other team is bowling too well, at the end of the day, these wickets are something when you score 150, that's a par score for you."

She added:

"Dot balls are something which [are] already worrying us. In the next game, we would love to see some improvement in that area also."

"Don’t think I have done that" - Harmanpreet Kaur on her batting

Harmanpreet Kaur's sloppy 13 off 20 balls didn't justify the move to bat at No. 3 ahead of Jemimah Rodrigues. The Indian captain has now scored 16, 33, 4 and 13 in this tournament at an appalling average of 16.50 and a dismal strike rate of 82.50.

Disappointed with her performance against Ireland, Harmanpreet said:

"Initially I tried a few shots, but unfortunately I wasn't able to convert those shots into the boundary. The way I want to bat, I don’t think I have done that. Today, it was a good catch taken by the fielder. These things happen. But I want to bat freely."

India will take on Australia, the leaders of Group A, in the first semi-final on Thursday, February 23, in Cape Town.