Indian fans were once again left disappointed as the Indian women’s cricket team got knocked out at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 after getting defeated by Australia by 5 runs in the semi-finals. The semi-final match between India and Australia was played on 23 Feb 2023 at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, and after winning the toss, the Aussies chose to bat first. The Aussies women team posted a total of 172/4 on the score board with the help of brilliant knocks of Beth Mooney (54 runs, 37 balls, 7 fours & 1 six) and Meg Lanning (49 runs not out, 34 balls, 4 fours & 2 sixes). The Indian women cricket team had a bad start as it lost 3 top order batters just for 28 runs but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (52 runs, 34 balls, 6 fours & 1 six) along with Jemimah Rodrigues (43 runs, 24 balls, 6 fours) fought back and brought their team back in the game.
With these two on the crease, the match seemed to be tilting in India’s favor but after they both got dismissed, the Indian squad fumbled and lost the match by 5 runs after needing 16 runs in the last over to win the match.
The skipper Harmanpreet Kaur took to Twitter and thanked fans for their support. She wrote, “This is for all our fans across the globe who have supported us throughout this World Cup. I thank you for believing in our journey. I know as a cricket fan it’s sad to see your team lose. All I can say is that we will come back strongly and put a great show out there.”
This is for all our fans across the globe who have supported us throughout this World Cup . I thank you for believing in our journey. I know as a cricket fan it’s sad to see your team loose . All I can say is that we will come back strongly and put a great show out there .🙏🏼🇮🇳
— Harmanpreet Kaur (@ImHarmanpreet) February 24, 2023
However, few former cricketers are not happy with the manner in which Harmanpreet Kaur was dismissed in this match. After completing her half-century, Harmanpreet played a shot on the bowling of Georgia Wareham but Beth Mooney collected the ball in a clean manner and threw it towards Harmanpreet’s end.
Harmanpreet is a good runner between the wickets but she had fought illness for playing this match because of which she was a little slow during the second half of the run. Her bat got stuck on the ground and the wicketkeeper Alysa Healy made no mistake in removing the bails which resulted in India losing a well-settled batter.
During the live commentary, former English cricketer Nasser Hussain termed Harmanpreet Kaur’s run-out as ‘school girl error’.
When Harmanpreet Kaur was asked about Nasser Hussain’s comment, she asks how you will handle the pressure or defend when a former cricketer like Nasser Hussain calls it school girl or club cricket error.
She continues by saying that she doesn’t know if he has said it but it is his way of thinking and not hers. She adds that in cricket, she has seen many times that batters get stuck while taking singles like that and she will take it as she was unlucky today. Harmanpreet Kaur further says that there may be a scope for improvement for them as they didn’t field badly but their bowling was not well in some patches and sometimes they also didn’t bat well. The Indian skipper adds that when a team plays well in all the matches, then only it has more chances of playing in important matches such as semi-finals and finals but what happened today was not a school girl mistake as they are mature enough and they are playing international cricket.
The former Indian woman cricketer Diana Edulji not only slammed the skipper Harmanpreet Kaur for running in a casual manner but she also slammed the senior cricketers of the Indian women’s team as she feels that they are not fit enough. Diana has stated in an interview that the under-19 team is fitter than the seniors and they also don’t choke in important matches like the seniors. She further says that we are seeing the same thing happening for the senior team from 2017-2023 and the Indian women’s team definitely needs an overhaul. She also slams the star culture and asks the BCCI to include yo-yo test for the women’s team despite it being tough for women but she advised that different parameters for fitness should be set for the women team.
Diana Edulji who has also led the Indian women’s cricket team during her playing days lashed out at Harmanpreet Kaur for running casually and for not understanding the importance of her wicket. Moreover, she has asked the Indian team to look how the Aussies have played and learn professionalism from them.
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