Women's T20 WC: Smriti Mandhana brushes aside NRR concern ahead of clash against Sri Lanka

Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana fended off India's concern regarding their Net Run Rate before squaring off against Sri Lanka in the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup. The Group A has become a closely knit affair as four out of five teams sit with two points apiece. India have found themselves in a peculiar situation after incurring a heavy 58-run defeat against New Zealand.

India opened its points tally with a 6-wicket victory against their arch-rival Pakistan. However, India took 18.5 overs to chase down 106 which did not play a major role in improving their condition. India are currently ranked fourth with a NRR of -1.217. India's position in the group will depend on the manner they perform against Sri Lanka. With the rematch of Asia Cup final set to unfold, Mandhana affirmed that NRR is not their first priority, but winning the match is.

"It [NRR] was playing in our minds last match against Pakistan. But the conditions are very different here in UAE and scoring quickly isn't quite easy. The first priority is to win the match and it's a balance between what is best for the team and what we can do in terms of NRR. I started off fine last game but I consumed dot balls later on, which was irritating for me," Mandhana said on the eve of clash against Sri Lanka in a press conference.

"We can't go out there thinking we are going to attack any opposition and cruise, conditions and outfield are difficult. The first priority is winning than thinking of NRR in these situations. The group is definitely tricky, but it's just the start, we don't want to think too much ahead. One day at a time," she added.

India have experimented in their batting lineup in the opening two games. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur came out to bat at the number three spot against the White Ferns but against Pakistan it was Jemimah Rodrigues who came out to bat. Mandhana addressed the changes and insisted that it was made according to the conditions.

"The wicket conditions and ground conditions changed from what we expected," Mandhana said. It [No.3 role] depends on the match situation, who we are playing, where we are playing. I wouldn't say it was all planned. It would depend on what we are chasing also, we will keep that in consideration to decide batting order," she remarked.

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan. (ANI)