Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted that they are making the same mistakes in the big finals after losing the Gold Medal match against Australia by nine runs at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Sunday. The Women in Blue were in a shoo-in position at 118-2 while chasing 162 runs with a well-settled Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease.
At that stage, they needed another 44 runs to win off the final 33 balls, which should have been a stroll in the park. However, they lost eight wickets for 34 runs to lose the match by nine runs. The Indian team kept losing wickets at regular intervals after Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur were dismissed in quick succession.
Kaur feels they are not holding their nerves with the bat in the big matches, which is a concern as they are winning similar matches in the league phase and bilateral series.
“Every time in big finals, we make the same mistakes again and again [with the bat], that is something we have to improve,” Harmanpreet said. “We don’t do these mistakes in the league phase or in bilateral. That is blocking our mind somewhere. I am someone who is always looking for one more batter in the side. Unfortunately, we’re working on that. Once we get that, this thing [collapsing] will go away.
“After losing two crucial wickets, the way Jemi and I batted was much needed at that time. You need to hold your nerves. We were nearly there. Maybe if Pooja [Vastrakar] or I were around, we could’ve won the game. But that is part of the game; sometimes some things you can’t control. It is great learning for us,” she added.
On the other hand, Radha Yadav was brilliant in the field for India as she took a brilliant catch to dismiss Tahlia McGrath and also ran out Australian captain Meg Lanning.
“If you want to beat this Australian team, you have to field well. If you give them easy runs, they can easily take the game away. We discussed it in the team meeting and Radha set the example for us,” Harmanpreet opined.
Despite a heartbreaking loss in the final, it was a good tournament for India as they had beaten England in the semifinal contest.
“I know we could’ve easily won gold, but something is better than nothing, at least we got silver. We deserved it for so much hard work. If not gold, we’re satisfied with what we got today,” Harmanpreet said.
