India captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed her disappointment at being run out for 52 after India’s narrow five-run defeat to Australia in the first semi-final of the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup, terming the incident as “unfortunate”. Despite suffering from illness, Harmanpreet led India in Australia’s chase of 172/4. However, in the 15th over, a freak moment saw her bat jammed as she ran towards the striker’s end, leading her away from the crease. This proved to be the turning point of the match and India could only manage 167/8 in their 20 overs despite a brilliant partnership of 69 off 41 balls between Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues. The defeat meant that India missed out on a second T20 World Cup final in a row, losing to Australia by just five runs and ended the Aussies’ unbeaten run in the tournament.
“Can’t feel more unlucky than this. We got the momentum back with Jamie (Jemimah). To lose here, we weren’t expecting it. Couldn’t be more unlucky the way I got run out . endeavor.” It was important and we were happy going till the last ball.”
“We wanted to fight till the last ball. Today we wanted to chase as well, so when they decided to bat, it was fine. Even after losing the first two wickets, we knew we had a good batting line-up. Credit to me. Needed.” For Jemimah, she gave us momentum,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Harmanpreet also lamented India’s missed opportunity in the poor fielding performance. India relieved Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning on 32 and 1 respectively. While Beth would go on to score 53, Meg remained unbeaten on 49.
“Glad to see some good performances. We played some good cricket. Today was something where we wanted to play our natural game. Some of us did that. We again gave away some easy catches. When you have to win, Then you’ll have to.” your chances We can only learn from them.”
Australian skipper Megg was pleased with how his team stood up in crunch moments during the match.
“It was one of the best wins I’ve been involved in, to fight back after not playing the best cricket in all three aspects. We missed our length and gave away some width. India played hard, so we knew It would be a score that was difficult to defend.
He also revealed that no one in the Australian team panicked when Harmanpreet and Jemimah were attacking. “Nervous at times. But we knew playing against these guys, that you need to stay in the game to get over the line. Kaur was unlucky. I think we’ve been able to stay calm and composed, we didn’t get nervous. Not even when we weren’t bowling well. These are the matches we want to win. Can’t wait to be here for the final.”
All-rounder Ashley Gardner was named player of the match for his all-round performance, scoring a quick 31 with the bat and taking two wickets with his off-spin. He said that his plan was not to give any loose ball to the Indian batsmen.
“Last over, my heart rate was around 190 (laughs). That’s how we fight as a team. We talked about it after the match. We weren’t in a position to win, but we find a way We play hard, and we win.”
“We set up the game well with the bat, missed a few with the ball but showed character. Was clear on what we wanted to do. India have handy batsmen in the lineup. With ball in hand, try it was about to do.” Hit wickets and don’t give away freebies. Want to take confidence in the final.”