Mandhana's Candid Confession: Taking the Blame for India's World Cup Setback

In a candid display of leadership and self-awareness, India's star opener Smriti Mandhana has openly taken responsibility for the team's heart-wrenching defeat against England in the ongoing Women's ODI World Cup 2025. Her powerful admission comes in the wake of a match where India, chasing a modest target of 217, crumbled under pressure, eventually falling short by 34 runs.

Mandhana, known for her elegant strokeplay, had herself gotten off to a promising start, scoring 38 runs.

However, her dismissal proved to be a pivotal moment that triggered a dramatic batting collapse. "I have to take the blame for the loss because I was set and I should have converted it into a big score," Mandhana stated post-match, her voice tinged with regret. "If any batter gets set, it is their responsibility to take the team through, and I couldn't do that."

Her honest assessment didn't stop at her own performance.

Mandhana delved into the broader issues plaguing the Indian batting lineup. She highlighted the team's struggles against England's spin attack, which expertly exploited the conditions. "We spoke about trying to build partnerships. Our bowlers did a tremendous job to restrict them to 216 on a good wicket.

We failed as a batting unit, especially against their spinners, to rotate the strike and build those crucial stands," she explained.

The Indian innings saw a promising start with Mandhana and Shafali Verma laying a foundation, but once that partnership broke, a flurry of wickets followed, with no other batter truly settling in to steer the chase.

The middle order seemed to falter under the weight of expectations, unable to counter England's disciplined bowling and strategic field placements. The absence of long-standing partnerships was acutely felt, as single-digit scores became a recurring theme through the latter half of the innings.

Despite the disappointment, Mandhana acknowledged the chase was well within reach.

"217 was a chaseable total, absolutely. We just needed one or two batters to play a long innings, but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals. It's a collective failure, but as a top-order batter, I feel I let the team down by not capitalizing on my start."

Looking ahead, the team faces a challenging path, with their next fixture against a formidable South African side.

Mandhana emphasized the importance of learning from this setback and making swift improvements. "We need to address our issues quickly, especially building partnerships and showing more application against spin. Every match from here on is crucial, and we need to come back stronger," she asserted, hinting at the resolve within the squad to turn their fortunes around.

The cricketing world now watches to see if India can rally from this blow and reignite their World Cup campaign.