Captain of India Harmanpreet Kaur said lost catches proved costly in her side’s six-wicket loss to South Africa in a Group A match of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday.India had chances to put South Africa under pressure but failed to hold on to them. Radha Yadav dropped a catch at long-on twice, giving away Marizanne Kapp life belts. Kapp made the most of those opportunities, remaining unbeaten on 81 off 45 balls with seven fours and four sixes, and guided South Africa to victory.“We had a few chances in between but we couldn’t take those chances,” Harmanpreet, who became the first cricketer in men’s and women’s cricket to play 200 T20 Internationals together, said after the match, as quoted by news agency PTI.India still have two group stage matches, against Bangladesh and Australia, and Harmanpreet said the team must remain positive despite the setback.“We have two matches and this is the time to stay positive. Shree Charani and Shafali (Verma) bowled well but the fielders did not support them. We have to take advantage of the opportunities at this level. We’ve had no luck with that.”The Indian captain said the team will review their plans before the remaining matches. India are second in Group A behind Australia, who have won all three matches. The two first-placed teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.“We have two games and this is the time to think about it. We will sit down and think about what to do and then we will see the changes that need to be made,” Harmanpreet said.She also highlighted Kapp’s changes as a turning point in the competition.“She (Kapp) took the game away from us. She gave us two chances and those were key moments and it took the game away from us.”Harmanpreet said lessons can be learned from the defeat and stressed the importance of staying positive ahead of the next matches.“(There’s) a lot of learning, a lot of positive moments and a lot of moments where I have to stay strong. Now is the time to stay positive and think about what to do in the upcoming games. “I hope we will do better in the next matches,” said the Indian captain.South African captain Laura Wolvaardt praised Kapp’s innings, calling it one of the best she had witnessed.“We were under a lot of stress on the bench there. I think to win from the position we were in was absolutely amazing and it was probably one of the best shots I’ve seen under that much pressure,” Wolvaardt said.She added that the win over India, the team that defeated South Africa in the final of the 2025 ODI World Cup, made the result even more special.“… and to do it against a side that we lost to in the (2025 ODI World Cup) final is pretty special. She’s probably the greatest big-match player I’ve ever seen. I’m really glad she’s in my team,” she added.
