The pitch at Wankhede was not as challenging that only 70 or 80 runs would be possible: Deepti Sharma

India all-rounder Deepti Sharma stated that the wicket was not as challenging as her side made it appear during the second T20I against England at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on December 9. Due to their bleak batting performance, the Women in Blue suffered a four-wicket loss, thereby paving the way for England to clinch the series.

Sharma stated that the pitch was not a demanding one and the conditions did not favour them. After losing the first T20I by 38 runs at the same stadium, India were bundled out for a mere 80 in 16.2 in the subsequent game. However, Harmanpreet Kaur's women did put up a stunning show with the ball, grabbing six wickets.

"The pitch was not as challenging that only 70 or 80 runs would be possible. A few more runs could have been scored to get to a total of around 110-115. But there are such days when conditions do not favour you. As a team, we try to do well but anyone can have an off day. We did not feel, that since we could not do well in the first innings, we will not be able to make any impact whatsoever in the second. Had we built partnerships in between, the score would have been a lot different but we will learn from this going into the match tomorrow (on Sunday)," Sharma was quoted as saying by The Hindu.  

The 26-year-old further lavished praise on the bowlers as they posed a challenge when Heather Knight and Co. were chasing a paltry score of 81 runs. Sharma went on to say that the surface was a bit "tricky". 

"Whatever happened in the first innings, we wanted to do better in the second innings as a bowling unit. We wanted to take the game as deep as possible and the bowlers did a good job with that. The bowlers did well since the opposition lost six wickets. It is not easy for the batters and the bowlers deserve credit for pulling things back.

"We have played such matches in the past as well. We wanted to maintain a positive approach and keep close-in fielders as much as possible, that we would back each other up and not give up that easily. The wicket could also be a factor since both the matches panned out differently," Deepti added.

"The wicket for the first match was better given that the ball was coming onto the bat nicely and it was easier to bat compared to today, when the pitch was a little tricky for the batters and the ball was also skidding a bit," the all-rounder concluded.