- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
The Indian women’s cricket team had a heartbreak on Thursday (23) at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, South Africa, as it lost to Australia in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup by just five runs.
All focus was on India captain Harmanpreet Kaur after the game not because she was the team’s highest scorer with 52 off 34 balls but getting run out in a bizarre fashion when her side needed her the most. The dismissal in the 15th over proved to be a gamechanger and India, who were chasing 173 to win and came back well into the game after losing three early wickets, fell just short of the target.
After the match, Kaur was found to be emotional who wore glasses to hide her tears. Later, former India player Anjum Chopra was seen embracing her to console her. When she was asked about her gesture towards the India captain, Chopra said she was just trying to “lessen the sorrow”.
“My intention was to give the captain some empathy because that’s all I can offer from the outside. It was an emotional moment for both of us. India have reached the semi-finals a lot of times and they have lost. This is not the first time I’ve seen Harmanpreet bat like this. I have seen her battling her injuries and health. Today she might not have even played but because this was a World Cup semi-final and because she was Harmanpreet Kaur,” Anjum said in a video which was shared by the International Cricket Council.
“She is not the one who takes a backward step; she will go forward and a backward step, she will go forward and she did that. Today, before the match started, she was able to bring herself to a situation where she can play. She ran around in the field for 20 overs and then while batting, she rekindled India’s hopes. Of course, Jemimah Rodrigues also played her part. I can understand what Harmanpreet Kaur must be going through. It was a player-to-player moment with her. I was just trying to lessen her sorrow,” she added.
Kaur, 33, came out to bat when India were precariously placed at 28 for 3 but remained till the 15th over to take the score till 133 when she got run out after failing to plant his bat on the ground. She was widely criticised over her mode of dismissal.
