Heather Knight: 'We didn't play the Indian spinners well'

After going down to India in the series opener, England captain Heather Knight admitted that her team did not play the Indian spinners well.

“I don’t think we played it particularly well today. Pitch started to turn and deteriorated too. There was inconsistent spin as well, which makes it harder,” Knight said after England’s 66-run defeat at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

The England skipper also admitted that the target of 203 was ‘perfectly chaseable.’

“We bowled well, but were unlucky not to take more wickets upfront. But we were more than happy with 200 to chase. (The wicket) was sticky, it turned but once you got to play 15-20 balls it became easier to play shots. The first 10-15 balls were the key,” she said.

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Knight lauded India’s Jhulan Goswami’s knock of 30, which helped India cross the 200-run mark.

“She (Jhulan) batted very well. She came in and put pressure on the bowlers but the total was still chaseable,” Knight said.

England is one down in the series and when asked what would the team’s approach be in the next couple of games, she said, “We lost the first game in the World Cup. We have lost games earlier in the series and come back as well. We need to come back quickly. We are taking one game at a time. We need partnerships.”

She also admitted that Indian pacers, Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey, bowled consistently.

“Jhulan and Shikha swung the ball and bowled very well. Jhulan has lot of experience and is consistent,” Knight said.