After the loss of three early wickets, India Women’s vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur put up a brave fight against the defending champions England at the Brabourne Stadium, as her team tried to chase down a stiff target in Match 6 of the 2013 ICC Women’s World Cup.
However, with the loss of three successive wickets later in the innings, the match leaned completely in the favour of the opposition. Katherine Brunt removed Reema Malhotra and Amita Sharma off consecutive balls, while N Niranjana was sent back by Danielle Wyatt. Speaking about this turn of events, Kaur said, “Yes, at that time I felt that the match is turning completely, because before that I knew that Amita Sharma and N Niranjana were to bat and they are [the kind of players who would be] able to maintain the run-rate that was going down. But they got out early and after that [it went downhill].”
“In the last innings she [Jhulan Goswami] used the powerplay quite well and even in today’s match she was looking good. But then Brunt bowled well and they fielded also quite well.”
Although they lost the game, the batter was unbeaten on 107, after scoring her first ton and that too on the biggest of stages – the World Cup. Reflecting on her breathtaking innings that was studded with eight boundaries and two sixes, Kaur said, “I was only trying to spend some time at the crease first, because I knew that even if I play a little slow initially for a couple of overs, I will be able to make up for it later. So, that is what I was doing, concentrating on taking singles, and then went for the big hits.”
Speaking about her big hits during her innings, Kaur said, “I have played like this from the beginning. My coach, Mr. Sodhi, always told me to play freely. If you know how to play freely, then you can work on getting singles. On the other hand, even if you can take singles, it is difficult to go for the big hits. So, from the very beginning he has taught me to do this. And it is because of him that I can play this game today.”
Asked if the loss of the top three wickets early in the innings while chasing a big total had cost them, the 23-year-old said, “It’s not like that, because we have other batters in the team as well and we have a long batting line-up. We were trying to take our time at the crease and then pace the innings.”
The youngster batted with determination and calm as she took on the England attack. Asked if she felt bogged down by pressure at any point during the match, Kaur said, “From the very beginning, I have been playing freely. And have never taken pressure. It’s just that we had a bad day. Mithali played some good strokes, and that was a miss-hit [when she got out]. It doesn’t matter now. I hope we she does well in the next game.”
While speaking about their next World Cup match, against Sri Lanka, the Indian vice-captain said, “Sri Lanka has played very well in the last game, so we will not take be taking them lightly at all. And like the girls have fought today, we will try to do the same and put up a better show in the next game.”
