India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Wednesday said her team is taking their World Twenty20 semi-final against England on Thursday like any other game.
India and England had contested the 50-over World Cup final last year, which was a nail-biting affair. England won that match, as India narrowly missed out on a first world title.
However, Harmanpreet said that match will not play on the minds of her and her teammates on Thursday.
Here are excerpts from her press conference before the semi-final:
On reaching the semi-finals:
“When we were coming here no one was sure that we could qualify for the semis. Credit goes to all team members and support staff that we worked hard in the last couple of months. It’s just because of their hard work we have reached here.”
On what has changed:
“I think the self-belief. I can give credit to [coach] Ramesh [Powar] because from the time he joined our team, our mindset and approach has totally changed now. I think now we have better plans and we can think bigger. Total credit goes to him.”
On World Cup final against England being on Indian players’ minds:
“We’re taking it like any other game we played in the league stage. I think the team is well prepared. Everyone is looking quite confident now. It’s just a matter of one more game now. We just need to focus on what we have done well in the last league games and continue doing those things now.”
On watching the World Cup final again:
“I think we have watched a lot of times because that particular game we did a lot of mistakes. I think we just need to keep those things in mind and learn from them. But as a team, we need to live in the present. At present we’re doing really well, I think.”
On plans for England’s big spin attack:
“Every team is depending on their spin attack [in Antigua], I think. It just depends how you prepare and how you are approaching towards the wicket. I think the short form of game. You don’t need to think about, like, certain things. You just need to go and play your natural game, other than just thinking about how the wicket is behaving, how like the things are going. I think just need to think freely and just execute your plans.”
On playing under lights for the first time:
“We got three practice sessions [in Antigua] and we played one practice game. I think it’s just a matter of how early you can settle for the conditions...the girls are looking quite confident now and hopefully we just stick to what we are doing in the past and just give our best for this team.”