Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was in full praise of her side and lauded the consistent hardwork and consistency that led them to the Women’s World Cup final against South Africa, after beating the seven-time champions Australia by five wickets in Mumbai late on October 30. Mumbai girl Jemimah Rodrigues, who struck an unbeaten 127, to power the side to a historic chase in the tournament’s history and seal the final berth. She got support from the captain too, who played a knock of 89 and stitched a crucial partnership of 167 runs that enabled India to chase 339 with nine balls to spare.
“Scoring 300-plus runs regularly in ODIs doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of consistent hard work and intent. Sir (Amol Muzumdar) has been there day and night, pushing us to improve. For me, staying calm in pressure situations comes from experience. I’ve lost many times and learned a lot from those moments. My family, especially my dad, always sits me down after a loss and discusses what I could have done better. Those lessons help me focus when I’m out there again,” Harmanpreet said.
“We wanted to bat first, but as usual, the toss didn’t go in our favour. My team jokes that we never win tosses! So, they always expect the toughest situations, and we prepare for that. Everything won’t be easy, but hard work and preparation always give us an edge,” Harmanpreet said. “This match was very important. When I came to the crease, Jemmy was already batting on around 30, and she told me, ‘We have to be there till the end, and if we are, we can finish this.’ We were very calculative, especially after losing Smriti early. She’s been in great form, and we’ve been quite dependent on her, but we trusted ourselves.”
