India vice-captain says the pair have a crucial role to play despite a quiet series in England

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Smriti Mandhana has backed her opening partnership with Shafali Verma, insisting the duo will play a key role in India’s quest for T20 World Cup glory despite a disappointing series against England.

The Indian openers struggled to convert starts during the three-match T20I series, managing opening stands of 19, 27 and 0. While both batters showed positive intent, neither was able to produce the big innings expected of them.

Reflecting on the series, Mandhana admitted the pair fell short of their own standards but remained confident they would bounce back before the World Cup.

“For me and Shifu, we are definitely timing the ball well, but unfortunately we were not able to contribute in big ways for the team,” Mandhana said. “We’ll go back to the nets, keep working hard and come back stronger as an opening pair because we both take pride in giving the team strong starts.”

India’s recent tour of England is viewed as an important part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup, with Mandhana believing the experience of playing in English conditions will prove valuable in the coming weeks.

Despite the series defeat, there were several positives for India. Yastika Bhatia enjoyed a successful return from injury and finished as the highest run-scorer across both teams with 119 runs, including a half-century.

Meanwhile, captain Harmanpreet Kaur produced a timely reminder of her class with an unbeaten 56 in the series decider.

“Harman at her best is a sight to watch,” Mandhana said. “She played all around the ground and delivered a really important innings under pressure. It’s great to see Harman, Jemi and others in such good form heading into the World Cup.”

India came close to winning the deciding match after reducing England to 38 for 3 while defending 180. However, a match-winning 137-run partnership between Alice Capsey and Heather Knight turned the game in England’s favour.

Mandhana acknowledged the quality of England’s response but said India would use the defeat as a learning opportunity.

“We started extremely well with the ball, but they played really good cricketing shots and built a great partnership,” she said. “We’ll go back to the drawing board, assess what we can do better and make sure we don’t repeat those mistakes at the World Cup.”

India now turn their focus to the global tournament, where they begin their campaign against Pakistan women’s cricket team on June 14 in Birmingham. They are grouped alongside Australia women’s cricket team, South Africa women’s cricket team, Bangladesh women’s cricket team and Netherlands women’s cricket team.

Ahead of the highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash, Mandhana believes the fixture needs no additional build-up.

“India-Pakistan doesn’t need hype,” she said. “The excitement is already there. Hopefully, lots of fans come out to support us and we can put on a great show for them.”

With the World Cup approaching, India will be hoping their experienced opening pair rediscover their best form and provide the strong starts needed to challenge for another major ICC title.