Harmanpreet’s India on the Brink: Familiar struggle to close out matches continues

Smriti_and_Harmanpreet
Smriti_and_Harmanpreet (PC:X/BCCI Women)

Snehasis Mukherjee in Indore

The Indian Women’s team’s home World Cup campaign is under serious threat after suffering three back-to-back defeats. After starting strongly with wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the Women in Blue went on to lose against South Africa and Australia in Vizag, followed by a narrow four-run defeat to England in Indore.

India’s fate in this competition was always going to be decided by their performance in the four big games, and so far, they have lost three of them, with one remaining against New Zealand in Navi Mumbai.

It has been disheartening for fans, not just because of the losses, but because in every one of those games, India had the upper hand at one stage before letting it slip away.

Across all three defeats, the story has been the same — when the pressure mounted, crucial mistakes crept in and matches went out of India’s hands.

Harmanpreet Kaur in frame. (PC: ICC)

Against South Africa, while defending 251, India reduced the Proteas to 81/5. But then, Laura Wolvaardt (70), Chloe Tryon (49), and Nadine de Klerk (84 not out) turned the game around, guiding South Africa to victory with seven balls and three wickets to spare.

In the next game against Australia, India were defending 330. Despite a strong start by the Aussies, the Women in Blue created a chance when they reduced the defending champions to 170/3. But once again, they failed to capitalise as Alyssa Healy scored a magnificent 142.
Even then, India had a small opening when Australia needed 28 runs with three wickets left, but they couldn’t break the Ellyse Perry–Kim Garth stand and lost once more.

Then came the match in Indore against England — this time with India chasing. After losing two early wickets for 42, the team recovered well through Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, who added 125 runs for the third wicket. Harman scored 70 and India looked on course for victory.

After her dismissal, Smriti (88) and Deepti Sharma (50) continued to build, adding 67 runs. But Smriti’s dismissal against the run of play — while attempting a lofted shot — proved costly. None of the set batters, be it Harman, Smriti, or Deepti, could stay till the end to finish the job, and India eventually fell short by four runs while chasing 289.

Match after match, India have struggled to finish games under pressure, whether while batting or bowling. Each time the pressure has mounted, the opposition has seized the momentum.

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After the loss to Australia, head coach Amol Muzumdar stressed that starting well is important, but finishing a game matters even more. After the defeat to England, Smriti took responsibility in the post-match press conference, admitting that her dismissal opened the door for England’s comeback. She also pointed out that poor shot selection at key moments hurt the team’s chances.

But the question that lingers among fans remains the same — when will India finally handle crunch situations better than their opponents? To win a World Cup, teams must win those pressure moments. South Africa, for example, were bowled out for just 69 in their opening game, but have since bounced back to seal a semifinal spot, winning games that could easily have gone against them (against India and Bangladesh).

Australia, to,o found heroes under pressure — Beth Mooney and Alana King rescued them against Pakistan. England have seen Heather Knight win matches against Bangladesh and India, Nat Sciver-Brunt deliver against Sri Lanka, and Charlie Dean make vital late contributions in both the Bangladesh and India clashes.

So, again, the big question crops up — when will India’s senior players step up in those decisive moments and close out games? India might still find a way into the semifinals, but can they handle the pressure of a knockout game if they reach there?

Plenty of questions to answer, and plenty to prove, as Harmanpreet Kaur’s India face New Zealand, on October 23, in Navi Mumbai, with their semifinal hopes hanging by a thread.

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