Things would have been different had we taken catches: Harleen

Until she decided to dance down the track against Megan Schutt, it had nearly been a perfect day for Harleen Deol.

She had begun cautiously, shifted gears at the right time with some fine shots, had posted her fourth ODI fifty, and was looking good for more, in the opening ODI against Australia on Sunday. She was playing in her hometown, at the new PCA Stadium.

Skipper Alyssa Healy’s smart piece of stumping, standing up to the seasoned seamer Schutt, ended Harleen’s innings. The Indian innings would eventually fall short by quite a few runs. The magnificent Australians romped home with plenty of wickets and balls to spare.

Harleen believes India had a decent total (281 for seven). “We dropped a few catches here and there, and things would have been different if he had taken those catches,” she said. “Under the lights catching may be a bit more challenging, but obviously we need to make sure that we raise our standards. But nevertheless there are two more matches, so we are going to focus on that.”

Harleen said it was a nice track to bat on. “But when the ball got a little older, it was like holding up a little bit,” she said. “As for my innings, I just wanted to take a little bit more time to understand the wicket and to understand which bowler was bowling what, so that I could change my plans according to my strength.”

The second ODI will be played on Wednesday.