Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur Friday revealed the reason behind the Women In Blue’s 13-run defeat to Pakistan during the Women’s Asia Cup clash.

“It was a chaseable target. In the middle overs, we were not able to take singles and rotate the strike. We played too many dot balls,” Harmanpreet said during the post-match presentation.

“I think in the middle we were trying to give other batters a chance. You have to do that as the tournament goes on, but it backfired and cost us the game,” she said.

“For me, it is important that whoever is new to the side should get enough games before the WC. It was a great opportunity for others,” Harmanpreet, who scored a run-a-ball 12, said.

“We don’t take any team lightly. It is part of the game. They played good cricket and deserved to win. We need to work on areas and be strong,” Harmanpreet said.

In a major upset, Pakistan on Friday defeated India by 13 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup — the third time in their history of T20 cricket that they have managed to beat the arch-rivals.

Batter Nida Dar set up the victory for her team after scoring a fifty and picked two wickets at crucial junctures.

The Indian team could score 124 runs and bowled out in the 20th over while chasing a target of 137 runs

Speaking after the victory, jubilant Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof said it was a very important game for them after they lost a game yesterday.

“We executed things very well. How Nida batted beautifully. We just wanted to take calculated risks. Nida played a crucial inning for us. In the middle we have gaps, and we know Nida cant hit so we look to hit the strength areas.”