Women's T20 World Cup, Ind vs Eng: Here’s how Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur defended her team on the defeat against England in semi-finals

Women cricket team has lost the Women's World T20 semi-finals against England in Antigua on Friday. On this defeat, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has come forward to defend her decision for not allowing experienced player Mithali Raj to play in the Women’s World T20 semi-finals.

Mithali Raj didn’t play the match as she was suffered from a knee injury against Ireland and was kept on rest for India’s final group game against Australia last week.

However, she was expected to come to play for the team for the knockout clash against England but, team management decided that the same team will play that has won the match against Aussies.

India was decided to bat first against England and the batter Smriti Mandhana struggled hard to score the runs. Mandhana scored 34 off 23 balls while Jemimah Rodrigues hit run-a-ball 26.

However, India lost their last eight wickets for 24 runs to end up scoring a below-par 112 in 19.3 overs. On the defeat against England, the decision of the Indian cricket team management for not allowing Mithali Raj has been questioned.

Harmanpreet has justified their decision as ‘whatever we decided, we decided for the team. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, no regrets.’ She added that it is a learning curve for them as they are a young team.

She has also lauded the efforts of her bowlers and said that they needed to work on the mental strength.

In T20 final match, England will play against Australia, who had thrashed defending champions the Windies in the first semi-final earlier on Friday.

Watch Video: