India in Women’s WC Final after momentous victory against Aussie
The Indian Women team have proved they are nothing less with their momentous victory against Australia to enter the World Cup Final. What our men in blue led by Gill couldn’t do against the Aussie in ODI and now in the T20 (lost the first match)
Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur did it. Both Jemimah and Harmanpreet couldn’t control their emotion as they eventually whimpered.
Jemimah Rodrigues scored a ton while Harmanpreet made 89 as India beat Australia in the semifinal.
Harmanpreet and Jemimah completed a record run chase.
Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to seal a five-wicket victory for India over reigning champions Australia in the second semifinal of the ICC Women’s World Cup.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was the first to race out of the dugout to embrace Jemimah Rodrigues, who had hammered a majestic and unforgettable century to make the win possible. Harmanpreet herself scored a
run-a-ball 89 and shared a 167-run partnership with Jemimah as India aced the biggest chase in Women’s World Cup history.
The Indian team members could not control their emotions after the win.
The India captain said she was extremely proud of her team’s performance, calling it the outcome of six months of hard work by the players and the coaching staff led by Amol Muzumdar.
“Very proud. She was loss of words to express herself. In the post-match presentation Harmanpreet said she was feeling great-this time they have crossed that line which they have been working towards for so many years,” said Harmanpreet Kaur.
She and head coach Amol Muzumdar spoke to each other and said they have done this because they have been working so hard. Both of them are really proud of this team. They have that trust that any player can win any match from any situation. No doubt they made a few mistakes, but they have been learning from them.
Harmanpreet pointed to the narrow defeat against England as the match they discussed on the morning of the semifinal against Australia.
They wanted everything to go in their favour in every situation, and kept telling themselves to be there for the team-and that worked for them. That day (against England), they realised they didn’t execute well. They were late by 2-3 overs; we could have taken risks a few overs earlier, and that cost us. That’s what they discussed-that they have to be calculative. Once you’re out of the game, it’s hard to come back,” said Harman.
She said they had discussed in the pre-match team meeting the importance of staying calm and calculated in the final five overs.
She wasn’t aware it’s 50 overs, but the last five overs are where you have to be very particular and calculative. They knew what they had to do in that situation, and also wanted to finish it before thel 50th over.
She credited Jemimah Rodrigues for her brilliant innings and the way she remained at the crease till the end.
“She (Rodrigues) is someone who always wants to do well for the team-always very calculative and wants to take responsibility. They always have that trust in her. Both of them had a good time on the pitch. While they were batting, they were complementing each other and calculating. She really enjoy batting with her. She’s always telling her. They have five runs, seven runs, two balls left. That shows how involved she is. She was amazed to see how she was thinking. Lots of credit to her for holding her nerve and continuing to bat for the team.
She added that now the focus is entirely on the final against South Africa.
One more game to go. Today, they all played well-happy with the result. But they have already started speaking about the next game, which shows how focused they are and how keen to win the World Cup. Playing in a home World Cup is special, and we want to give back to our fans and families. One more game to go, and will give it our best,” said the seasoned all-rounder, who is playing in her fifth World Cup.
Harmanpreet also thanked the huge crowd that had filled the stadium for their support. “They are not playing alone. They are with them and every game, they are coming and pushing them. They have been amazing-even when they lost, they got messages that this World Cup is not done and they can change it. The entire country is with them.
News Edit KV Raman
