19 March - Auckland - India player Yastika Bhatia post-match press conference
Reporter: Once again, in a familiar position, batting at number three, what was the kind of conversation you were having with Mithali in the middle - because a really crucial partnership for India to take the total team forward after a couple of early wickets.
Yastika: Yeah, so the ball was swinging quite a bit and the Australia pacers were making use of the wicket. So our conversation was that we have to stay on the wicket and get at least four to five runs and make sure that we don't lose another wicket over there and we carry the innings to at least 30 – 40 overs.
Reporter: Also, one more thing was there any trouble in while fielding with the ground dimensions and the light positions, catching under the lights. Was there any kind of trouble?
Yastika: Catching is difficult over here. But still, we have to do it and the ground dimensions are a little weird, but we didn't find anything like - we were standing ahead when in the square where the boundary was little big and coming from the boundary where the boundary was short.
Reporter: I want to know from you, did you have to make any adjustment in moving from opening to a number three, a place which is familiar with you?
Yastika: Yeah so just one thing sir told me that don’t play too aggressively. Just play a normal game not over aggression. And just take responsibility of the team and play that's what he said to me. That's what I made adjustment in my game.
Reporter: In the fielding today, Smriti was speaking to bowlers a lot, especially in the middle part and it looked like she was marshaling the troops. Was it something that is discussed in the innings break or it was in the spur of the moment that it decided that she was taking it?
Yastika: Yeah, Smriti being a senior player stepped up when the team needed her - means she was continuously talking. Mithali di cannot every time be close to the bowler. So senior players like Smriti, Hari, Jhulan they speak to the bowlers and give their guidance whenever needed.
Reporter: My question is that – we see that the Eden Park dimensions are too different is not a proper circular or a proper oval like the crowd shape is different. So how you adjust to the targets like the boundaries are shorter like you're targeting the areas there or you were targeting according to naturally like where the ball is going?
Yastika: Yeah, you would have observed in the last 6 overs, Pooja and Hari made use of the ground conditions and quite - they hit 6’s in the straighter area where the boundaries are short. So that was in our plan that we had to make use of the shorter boundaries and reverse in fielding and bowling. We were bowling where the boundaries big so that they have more difficulty in scoring.
Reporter: India ended up with 277. At one point you looked comfortably getting 300 When your partnership was on when they had 200 After 40 overs, and yet we ended up with 277. What did the make of that total, were you guys content with the total you had? Did you think it was defendable, or how did you approach the defense of 277?
Yastika: Yeah, I think it was defendable, total and credit to the Australia the way they started. Means Healy and Haynes- they started very aggressively, and we would have liked a few wickets in the power play and that would have turned the game but they played really well.
Reporter: I just wanted to ask if Harman’s okay to bowl, has she been bowling in the nets? Did India miss a sixth bowling option today? What did you think about that?
Yastika: Yeah Hari is bowling in the nets and we had it in our mind that we can use her in the middle overs? But I don't know about what the captain had in their mind. But we will see in the future matches if we need Hari di she can do.
Reporter: Towards the end, in the last couple of overs we saw how putting pressure on Meg Lanning’s square of the wicket was starting to have an affected, did you miss a trick in not doing that earlier?
Yastika: Yeah, we could have tried that earlier that we could have kept two points but still, she was scoring throughout the region. So even on the onset, she was getting runs, so that player - means one player we had to take out and keep there, so our plan was bowling stump to stump, so we had kept field for that, but she was finding a way to hit at point. So we could have kept it earlier but it was according to a plan which we had.
Reporter: I just wanted to ask, I mean Australia came into this tournament as world number ones. They've won five games in a row here now. Is any team capable of denying them this trophy, how hard are they going to beat?
Yastika: Yeah, certainly they have been playing superb cricket - means their batters, everyone takes responsibility – like Meg Lanning today, she just took it on herself to take the team over the line. Unfortunately for her – fortunately for us - she couldn't do it but she had that intent – the team is quite hard to beat but still, we were quite close today and we could have crossed the line. It could have gone either way. So there is nothing like they can’t be beaten. Our team is really good and we can do it for sure in the semifinals or finals.