Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur says the drop in play cost him money as his team lost by six wickets to South Africa in the Group A match of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday.India had a chance to put South Africa under pressure but failed to seize it. Radha Yadav bowled two catches over long on, giving away Marizanne Kapp ways of life. Kapp made the most of the opportunity, being unbeaten on 81 from 45 balls with six fours, seven fours, and South Africa’s victory.“We got a few chances in the middle but we couldn’t take those chances,” Harmanpreet, who became the first player in both men’s and women’s cricket to play 200 T20 Internationals, told reporters after the match, as reported by news agency PTI.India still have two group games remaining, against Bangladesh and Australia, and Harmanpreet said the team must remain optimistic despite the setback.“We have two matches and now is the time to stay positive. Shree Charani and Shafali (Verma) played well but the players did not agree with them. We have to take advantage of this level. We have had no luck with this. “The Indian captain said the team will review its plans before the remaining matches. India are second in Group A behind Australia, who have won all three of their matches. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.“We have two matches and now is the time to think about it. We will sit down and think about what to do and then we will see the changes,” said Harmanpreet.He referred to Kapp’s innings as a turning point in the tournament.“He (Kapp) took the game away from us. He gave us two chances and that was the most important moment and that took the game away from us.”Harmanpreet said there are lessons to be learned from the defeat and stressed the need to remain positive in the next match.“(There’s) a lot to learn, a lot of good times and a lot of times where I have to be strong. Now is the time to be optimistic and think about what to do in the upcoming games. We hope we will be better in the next matches,” said the Indian captain.South African captain Laura Wolvaardt praised Kapp’s innings and said it was one of the best she had ever seen.“We were under a lot of pressure on the bench there. I think the win from the position we were in was amazing and probably one of the best knocks I’ve seen under a lot of pressure,” said Wolvaardt.He added that beating India, the team that defeated South Africa in the final of the 2025 ODI World Cup, made the result even more special.“…and to do that against the team we lost to in the (2025 ODI World Cup) final is really special. He’s probably the greatest player I’ve ever seen. I’m happy he’s in my team,” he added.
