India batter Harmanpreet Kaur said that she was disappointed by her effort in the Women’s World Cup final against England, despite scoring a half-century. Kaur was dismissed in the 34th over to take India’s score to 138/3 in their chase of England’s 227. India would go on to lose the match by nine runs.
Kaur had almost single-handedly taken India to the final after hitting a whirlwind career-best 171 not out against Australian in the semi-final. The 28-year-old was looking to score boundaries for her team when she was dismissed by Alex Hartley, holing out to deep backward squareleg.
“The way I got out I was disappointed because I wanted to clear the field but the ball landed in the fielder’s hand,” Kaur said. “If I had played for three or four overs more then we wouldn’t have lost the match by nine runs.”
Talking about her blitzkrieg against Australia, Kaur said that she was pleased the match was shown on TV. “I have played such knocks in the domestic circuit and also international cricket,” she said. “But the [semi-final] match was broadcasted and everyone saw my innings. The match was very important and we wanted to win that particular game. I was really happy with my innings and the team winning.”
So did her stint at the Big Bash League help her evolve as a batter? “I learnt a lot of things from the Big Bash. The league had a lot of good players. I used to see them prepare and learnt a lot of from them. Those things then helped in South Africa and England. I wish the rest of the team [also] gets a chance [to play BBL] because they will get to learn a lot and that will benefit the team in the future.”
Kaur also backed her aggressive game and said will not get bogged down even though bowlers come up with strategies against her. “I like to play aggressively. Since my childhood, I used to play with boys and when they used to hit those sixes, I used to watch them and also wanted to do the same. Sometimes bowlers also come up against you with a certain strategy and you don’t get to score runs freely. My coaches have always taught me that no matter how ugly you look out there, you should continue batting.”
With captain Mithali Raj likely to hang up her boots in the next couple of years, all eyes will be on Kaur to take over ahead of the next World Cup in 2021 in New Zealand. However, Kaur has only one thing in her mind – going the distance in the next World Cup and bringing the trophy home.
“That will take a long time to happen,” she said, about becoming captain. “I don’t know whether it will happen or not. But the way the team has been playing, it is a good thing. We have waited for a long time for such a moment and I think with the way we are playing, regardless of who the captain is, my desire is to play the next World Cup and win it.”