Harmanpreet credits Australia series for World Cup belief

Harmanpreet Kaur said India's pre-World Cup series against Australia helped build confidence despite defeat. She praised Jemimah Rodrigues' match-winning semi-final century, while Jemimah recalled Australia's strong start and a crucial partnership with Deepti Sharma during the chase.

Hyderabad: “Before the World Cup, the only reason we wanted to play against Australia was because we knew we would have to face them at some stage, whether in the semi-final or the final. So that series was an important preparation,” said Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Speaking on JioStar’s ‘Unstoppable’, Harmanpreet said: “Even though we lost, that series gave us a lot of confidence. We realised that we were not far behind. The gap wasn’t that huge. With just a little extra effort in key moments, better shot selection, tighter bowling in the death overs and sharper fielding, we could get across the line. That belief stayed with us going into the World Cup.”

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On Jemimah Rodrigues’ knock in the semi-final against Australia, the star batter said: “It was one of the best knocks Jemimah has played in her career. After a break, a player often comes back with renewed hunger and focus. You become more dangerous because you have had time to reset.”

“Jemimah showed exactly that. The way she batted against New Zealand in the must-win league match was outstanding. And then she carried the same momentum into the semi-final against Australia, playing a brilliant knock of 127. The clarity and confidence in her batting were evident. She didn’t look rushed. She picked the right balls to attack and rotated the strike well. Her knock gave the entire team belief. We started to feel that this World Cup was ours to win,” Harmanpreet explained.

For her part, Jemimah Rodrigues shared her initial reaction to Australia’s total in the semi-final.

“Australia came out with an aggressive intent in the semi-final. The duo of Phoebe Litchfield and Ellyse Perry were hitting everything. They weren’t sparing any bowler. Seeing their batting, I thought we were gone, that Australia would post 400. But our bowlers fought back brilliantly,” she said.

“They controlled the scoring rate, especially in the last ten overs. The bowling was superb, and we held them to 338. I remember walking back to the dugout with Richa Ghosh. I told her they were 20 runs short. At the DY Patil ground, no total is safe. With the start they got, they should have scored much more,” she said.

On her conversation with Deepti Sharma before stitching a crucial 38-run stand in the semi-final, Jemimah said: “When Deepti came in to bat after Harman di’s dismissal, I told her that I’m very tired. I was not able to push. Please keep talking to me. And Deepti was like, ‘Jemimah, don’t worry. You’re doing great. Just stay at the crease till the end. I’ll take the risk of playing big strokes.'”