Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai
It has been just over 24 hours since India suffered an ignominious loss to New Zealand in the T20 World Cup in the UAE. And we are now less than five hours away from India’s next assignment – a match against arch-rivals, Pakistan. Although India are favourites to emerge triumphant against Pakistan, they would be feeling the pressure. One of those most under the spotlight is Harmanpreet Kaur.
The Indian skipper tried to put up a brave front in the ‘captains’ meet’ before the start of the World Cup. But if the outside coating was peeled away, beneath there was perhaps a touch of anxiety and apprehension. India had entered the World Cup on the back of losing the Asia Cup final. Over the last seven years, India were also on the receiving end of a few missed chances to hoist the World Cup trophy. Somewhere, all those missed opportunities might have played on her mind. It certainly seemed so when Harmanpreet was batting versus New Zealand.
With India in a spot of bother, Harmanpreet tried to repeatedly shuffle across the stumps and whip Jess Kerr and Rosemary Mair. For starters, being a bottom-hand-dominant player, it is an accepted fact that Harmanpreet will favour the leg-side. But when the bottom-hand tightens up too much, it leads to tension in the arms and shoulders, affecting the balance.
Leaving aside the mundane technical staff, it was a sign of a batter who was probably feeling the pressure of leading the side, while up against a rejuvenated New Zealand unit. A few deliveries later, Harmanpreet was walking back to the pavilion after scoring just 15. Her teammates too seemed to be a bit anxious in the field during the game. That might have affected their fielding.
It didn’t take long for New Zealand to wrap up the game. After the presentation ceremony, when the cameras zoomed in on the Indian team, there were a few glum faces. At that juncture, one wondered whether Harmanpreet would make it to the press conference. She didn’t, and it was Jemimah Rodrigues who had to keep her chin up and attend the presser. There is a school of thought, and perhaps rightly so, that the leader should take the responsibility in the aftermath of the side losing by a massive margin.
Such is the nature of the modern game that the very next day the members of the Indian squad had to wheel their way back to practice sessions. The team management tried to bring in some camaraderie by allowing the girls to play a game that resembled football. There were some light-hearted moments, especially when any of the players would kick the ball higher than the bar.
The Indian captain didn’t indulge too much in playing football. Obviously, as the leader of the set-up, she would have a lot of other things to think about ahead of the India-Pakistan game. Just like Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana also wore a serious look and had a rather lengthy chat with the coaching staff.
So, that is, in brief, a summary of the current mindset of Harmanpreet. As a cricket connoisseur, one would like to see a slightly different version. Just to illustrate the point further, let’s revisit the 2013 50-over World Cup game between India and England, where she cracked a superlative hundred.
With India in early trouble, Harmanpreet took strike against Katherine Brunt, arguably the fastest bowler going around on the women’s circuit at that time. There was something more to notice – Harmanpreet came out to bat without a helmet. Here was a bowler who employed the bouncer to good effect but Harmanpreet’s body language gave an indicator that she was ready to tackle the stern test. While batting on zero, she cracked a fluent cover drive and that was followed by a punchy straight drive.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Harmanpreet went on to score a valiant hundred, with wickets falling at the other end. That cover drive also provided enough evidence of Harmanpreet’s bottom-hand loosening up. So, alongside being fearless, there was an air of calmness attached to her batting. Four years later, Harmanpreet composed an iconic 115-ball 171 versus Australia in the 2017 World Cup. The very next year, Harmanpreet notched up her maiden ton in T20 World Cups in the West Indies. Fingers crossed, Harmanpreet would come out to bat with a similar kind of mindset versus Pakistan.
After India slipped to defeat against New Zealand, Rodrigues noted in the press conference: “This is the World Cup, we need to show character.” To inspire her teammates, Harmanpreet might have to walk out to the toss against Pakistan with ‘cornered tigresses’ written on the shirt.