Smriti Mandhana Extends Apology To Fans After Women's T20 World Cup Final Defeat
Published - 11 Mar 2020, 06:30 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 04:46 AM
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Indian women’s team opener Smriti Mandhana on Wednesday took to Instagram and apologised to her fans after the team succumbed to an 85-run defeat at the hands of Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 final, at Melbourne.
The Indian eves played in their first-ever ICC World Cup final, but having beaten Australia in the tournament opener, they fell to a crunching loss in the grand finale. Hosts and defending champions Australia showed maturity and ruthlessness which helped them defend their title.
Smriti, who didn’t have a particularly impressive Women’s T20 World Cup, having scored just 49 runs in four matches, apologised to fans for the upset and vowed that the team will put in the hard yards going forwards, to ensure that they do better in the future.
Really sorry results didn’t go in our favour: Smriti Mandhana
“I would like to thank all those who filled the MCG on the 8th of March and the billions who supported us throughout. Really sorry that the results didn’t go in our favour but I’m overwhelmed by the support that we’ve been receiving and that kind of support is what keeps us going,” Mandhana said in an Instagram post.
“I also wanted to take a moment to appreciate the efforts and the hard work the entire team and support staff have put in throughout this World Cup. Really proud of this young team and I promise you all on behalf of my team that we will definitely work harder and come back stronger,” she said.
Despite the loss, former Australian legend Brett Lee stepped into Team India’s defence while going on to add that it will act as a stepping stone for the Indian ladies going forward.
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Bret Lee: This is not the end for them, this is just the start
As for India, it was a disappointing night for them but they’ll certainly be back — this is not the end for them, this is just the start,” Lee wrote in his column for the ICC.
“They’d never played in a final before and we saw in Melbourne how vital that experience is, it takes a long time to get settled and by the time they did, unfortunately the game was gone,” Lee added.
“Playing in front of a crowd like that takes plenty of getting used to so they’ll be better for it, and should take a lot of heart from the way they played in Australia,” Le further said.
