Former Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter Aditya Tare expressed disappointment over Smriti Mandhana’s shot selection after India narrowly lost to England by four runs in match 20 of the Women’s World Cup 2025.
At the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, Mandhana played a brilliant knock of 88 off 94 balls, striking eight boundaries, as India chased a target of 289. However, with the team comfortably placed at 234/3 in the 42nd over, Mandhana attempted to loft Linsey Smith over extra cover but miscued the shot to long-off. Her dismissal allowed England to cling onto the match and eventually restrict India to 284/6.
“No Need to Go for Big Shots” – Tare
Tare criticized Mandhana for attempting a high-risk shot when India was in control of the game. He also highlighted Deepti Sharma’s risky attempt to clear deep mid-wicket against Sophie Ecclestone, which backfired.
“Teams win when set batters finish the game. I felt Smriti’s dismissal was against the run of play. The momentum was entirely with India. The equation was a run-a-ball at this stage. There was no need to play that shot against the spin over extra cover. Smriti was also batting well. She was set,” Tare said on Star Sports.
He further added, “As Reema (Malhotra) mentioned, there were mistakes in shot selection under pressure, both from Smriti and Deepti. Against strong teams, knowing when to take a risk and staying calm under pressure determines the outcome.”
Playing the Game Wisely Matters
Tare stressed that India could have won if they had played sensibly throughout the innings. He remarked that both Mandhana and Deepti attempted aerial shots that the situation did not warrant.
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 100 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉. 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔. 𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒎𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒚, 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒎𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊’𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒓𝒖𝒏-𝒂-𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
He added that Mandhana could have taken the game deeper instead of playing a tired shot.
“Smriti could have taken the game deeper. I felt it was a very tired shot. That shot lacked energy. If she wanted to hit, she could have stepped out and hit a six. She played from her position and didn’t time it. Smriti Mandhana will herself be extremely disappointed because she knew she could have taken it deeper,” Tare elaborated.
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