As most of us know that the Women’s World Cup has just seen its ending day at Newlands stadium, South Africa. It was a breathtaking match between South Africa and Australia, where a number of spectators were present to witness the girls performing on the pitch. India, unfortunately, did not qualify for the finale. It was a match against Australia, where the blue army performed well.
However, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had to go through controversies after losing the match. Here we will discuss the statement stated by a woman Aussie cricketer that created an uncomfortable atmosphere between Indian and Australian cricketers.
The scenario:
Australian wicket-keeper batter Alyssa Healy took a brutal dig at Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur remarking that there was nothing ‘unlucky’ about the down of her wicket in the semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. Harmanpreet got out in the 15th over of India’s 173-run chase after a brilliant hitting of 52 runs off 34 balls.
She fell short of the pitch, very unfortunately, as her bat got stuck in the ground while trying to finish a routine second run. On the other end, Healy was ready and took the bails off just before Kaur could put the bat or her foot over the crease line to send the Indian skipper packing in just a moment which turned out to be a game-changing one for Australia. While many, including Harmanpreet Kaur, felt the dismissal was unlucky, Healy slammed her for the running between the wickets. The Aussie cricketer said Harmanpreet could have been over the crease line and had she put in a ‘genuine effort’ or not.
Healy stated ABC Sport
Healy stated ABC Sport talking about the run-out, “Harmanpreet can say all she likes that it was so unlucky, but at the end of the day, she cruised back and probably could have past the crease – you know, an extra two metres if she genuinely put in the effort,”
She also added, “You could say you were unlucky all your life, but it’s generally about the effort at that moment in time, and that’s something we speak about in the field in particular, in putting in that effort and putting in that energy – and I think that comes back to running between wickets as well,”.
Asked to chase a tricky 173 in the semi-final match, India got off to a nervous start losing their top 3 inside the first 4 overs. Harmanpreet joined Jemimah Rodrigues to hold the Women in Blue stage a fightback. Thus, the duo added 69 runs for the fourth wicket. At a stage, India appeared favourites to win, with Rodrigues and Harmanpreet blazing in the middle.
The run-out:
However, the match turned in Australia’s favour again after Rodrigues was out on 43 off 24 balls in the 11th over. Then the match was followed by Harmanpreet’s run-out in the 15th over. India could never get out of the twin blows as the Aussie bowler stuck their nerves to secure a thrilling victory of 5 runs for the five-time champions. At the post-match situation following the heart-breaking defeat, Kaur said in the press meet – “Can’t be unluckier than that,” about her run-out.
Healy also said generally, she would not take the bails off when a batter is about to finish a run because it would cause an extra effort to keep them back in place. But this time, she felt she had a chance during Harmanpreet Kaur’s departure. “I think it’s a waste of time, and I’ve got to put them back on. For some reason, I felt the need,” Healy said.
Moreover…
Australia made history by entering its seventh ICC T20 World Cup final with a historic win over India. The five-time champions have lost only once in the tournament’s final and will be hoping to lift an unprecedented sixth title when they lock horns with South Africa in the summit clash on Sunday.
Conclusion:
The statement on Harmanpreet Kaur is not to be supported at all. However, it is already seen that both teams cannot adjust their words on the fields. It can be called a tradition that whenever the teams face each other, there will be some hot talks among the players. Especially if we talk about the men’s matches, we have noticed Virat Kohli lose his patience with the Aussie cricketers.
Still, there is a pretty good relationship between the two countries. However, sportsmanship respects another player even if the player is from the rival team. So, none should turn themselves so that it spreads a wrong message to others as well as the youth cricketers.
