Ind vs Aus: Admitting that she was unlucky, Harmanpreet said the team probably needed to put in more effort.
Cape Town: Initially there were doubts over captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s participation in the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia. But then she played and what a knock it was from the Indian skipper on Thursday. Harmanpreet brought her best game to the table and took India close to a win before being run out in the most bizarre fashion. She scored 52 off 34 balls. Her knock was laced with six boundaries and a six. Admitting that she was unlucky, Harmanpreet said the team probably needed to put in more effort.
“Can’t be unluckier than this, to get that momentum back when me and Jemi were batting. And to lose after that, we didn’t expect this today. The way I got runout, can’t be unluckier than that. Putting in the effort was more important,” she said at the post-match presentation.
A bizarre moment in the 15th over sent Harmanpreet back when her bat jammed while running towards the striker’s end, leaving her short of her ground.
It turned out to be the turning point of the match as India could make only 167/8 in their 20 overs, despite a 69-run standoff of 41 balls between Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues. The loss meant India fell short of a second successive T20 World Cup appearance and broke the Australian juggernaut by only five runs.
“We wanted to fight till the last ball. Today we wanted to chase too, so that was fine when they chose to bat. Even after losing the first two wickets, we knew we had a good batting line-up. I should give credit to Jemimah, she gave us the momentum,” said Harmanpreet
