Former India pacer lashes out at women skipper Harmanpreet Kaur for remarks post loss in 2nd T20I vs Australia

Former India pacer Dodda Ganesh has criticised India women skipper Harmanpreet Kaur for her comments made after loss against Australia in second T20I. Ganesh didn't like Kaur's comment about youngster Shreyanka Patil who had bowled the penultimate over in the match on January 7 in Mumbai. Australia required 15 runs in the final two overs to win the game and were able to score all of them plus two more in Patil's over only.

"(While Bowling) we were getting those opportunities and taking wickets in the middle, that's a positive. If Shreyanka was on target in the 19th over, things would have been different but these close games help to identify areas to improve," Kaur had said at the post-match presentation.

"We have played these games a lot of time but this time we have a few new faces, this young side is looking very positive and I'm sure they will keep improving," she added.

The 19-year-old had already given 23 runs in previous three overs before giving away 17 in the final one. Opining on Kaur's comment, Ganesh wrote on his official social media handle X: "Throwing a 19yo kid under the bus is not done."

As for the match, India batted first in the game and scored a modest 130/8 in 20 overs. Deepti Sharma top scored for India with 30 while Richa Ghosh and Smriti Mandhana chipped in with 23 each. Apart from them, only Jemimah Rodrigues reached double figures, scoring 13 runs. For the Aussies, Kim Garth, Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham took two wickets each while Ashleigh Gardner took one.

Chasing 131, Australia's run rate was kept in check throughout their innings. It was Ellyse Perry 34 not out of 21 balls which got them over the line. The three-match series now stands level at 1-1 with the third and final match scheduled to played on January 9 in Mumbai.