India came so ever so close to reaching the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, but they fell shy by just 5 runs and lost the crunch semifinal fixture to the defending champions Australia.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who had reportedly been suffering from fever before the match and had been admitted to a local hospital played a valiant knock of 52 runs in the match but her unlucky run-out knocked the stuffing out of her side.
Former Indian skipper Anjum Chopra was seen hugging an emotional Kaur as ICC shared a video of the two legends of the Indian women’s cricket team sharing a moment.
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In an interaction with Sanjana Ganesan, Chopra revealed how she offered her empathy to Harmanpreet who might not have played had it been a regular match but since it was a fixture against Australia, in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup, the Indian skipper gave it her all, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
“My intention was to give the captain some empathy because that’s all I can offer from the outside," said Anjum Chopra when quizzed about what she told Harmanpreet Kaur after India’s narrow defeat.
“It was an emotional moment for both of us, India have reached the semi-finals a lot of times and have lost a lot of times. This is not the first time I’ve seen her play like this, I have also seen her battling injuries and her health," said the former cricket-turned-commentator.
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Chopra continued, “Today she might not have even played, but because it was the semi-final of a World Cup and she is a player who does not back down, but charges ahead, she did just that."
There were a lot of concerns regarding Harmanpreet’s fitness prior to the match, Pooja Vastrakar was also ruled out of the game with Sneh Rana being added into India’s squad as a last-minute replacement.
Chopra lauded the Indian captain for her sheer will to field for 20 overs and then to go and play a counter-attacking knock of 52 runs which nearly turned the tide in her side’s favour.
“Today, before the match, she was able to bring herself to play this match and continued it while fielding by running all over the ground. The captain said I’ll go everywhere and then while batting she rekindled India’s hopes. Of course, Jemimah Rodrigues was also part of it, the way India lost by 5 runs, but the way this match went, I can understand what she must be going through," she added.
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