'Don't want my country to see me crying' - Harmanpreet Kaur turns up with glasses at post-match presentation after India's T20 WC exit
Harmanpreet top-scored with 52 off 34 but India fell five runs short while chasing 172 runs in the second semi-final against Australia.
Indian suffered a heart-breaking five-run defeat against Australia in the semi-final clash of the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 on Thursday (February 23). India's campaign ended and so did the hopes for a first-ever T20 World Cup title. But they pulled off a admirable effort and dragged the game till the very last over. Harmanpreet Kaur played a captain's knock but it was not enough for the Women in Blue at Newlands.
Harmanpreet, in the post-match presentation, was emotional and wore glasses to hide her tears, saying that she does not want her country to see her crying. The Indian captain also added that the team will improve and won't let nation down again in future.
"I don't want my country to see my crying, hence I am wearing these glasses, I promise, we will improve and wont let out nation down like this again," Harmanpreet said after the match.
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245The way I got run out, can't be unluckier than that: Harmanpreet Kaur
Australia posted a big total of 172/4 while batting first as the Indian bowlers struggled to make an impact. Beth Mooney continued to haunt India with another excellent fifty while captain Meg Lanning scored a crucial unbeaten 49.
India lost both openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma with just 15 runs on the board, but Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues pulled off a 69-run stand for the fourth wicket to keep India alive.
Harmanpreet smashed 52 off just 34 to keep the Indian team in a driving seat for a while. However, she lost her wicket in a weird way in the 15th over, when her bat got stuck in the ground while she was just inches away from completing a run. Her dismissal proved to be a game-changing moment and she let her frustration show with her expression on her way to pavilion.
"Can't feel unluckier than this. We got the momentum back with Jemi. To lose from here, we weren't expecting this. (Tears - why?) The way I got run out, can't be unluckier than that. Putting the effort was important and we were happy to go to the last ball. We wanted to fight till the last ball. Today we wanted to chase too, so that was fine when they chose to bat. Even after losing first two wickets, we knew we had a good batting line-up," Harmanpreet said.
After Harmanpreet's dismissal, India managed to add just 34 runs from 32 balls. Asheigh Gardner bowled a match-winning spell of 2/37 as she conceded just 10 runs while defening 16 runs in the 20th over.
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