‘Watershed moment for Indian women’s cricket,’ says Muzumdar

India’s head coach Amol Muzumdar hailed the ICC Women’s World Cup triumph as a “watershed moment” for Indian cricket, lauding the team’s resilience and hard work. He called Shafali Verma’s all-round performance “magical” and credited fitness and fielding for the success.

HYDERABAD: Amol Muzumdar, coach of the victorious Indian team which won the ICC Women’s World Cup against South Africa in Navi Mumbai past midnight on Sunday, said he was absolutely proud about the achievement.

“There’s no doubt about it. I don’t know, it’s not sunk in yet. It’s an unbelievable achievement by all the girls. They deserve every credit, they deserve everything that will follow from here because they have worked incredibly hard,” the soft-spoken but big achiever said.

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“I know for a fact that they have done every Indian proud. We did not look at those losses (in three consecutive games before the knock-out phase), we just thought we couldn’t get over the line. We dominated a lot of those,” Muzumdar said.

“There were some hiccups in the campaign, but we were still alive in the tournament and here we are on November 2 as World Champions,” he said.

“I don’t know, I really don’t know. I am sure they deserve everything that will follow hereon. They have worked extremely hard for this. It is a watershed moment for Indian cricket,” the head coach said.

On Shafali Verma, Muzumdar said he would describe her performance in one word – ‘magical’. “Absolutely magical. Turns up in the semi-final, no pressure. In the final in front of home crowds and packed stadium, turns up a blinder of an innings and then picks up a few wickets with the ball. Absolutely magical,” the delighted coach said.

“Fielding was one thing we spoke a lot in the dressing room in the last two years. That fielding and fitness was really something we spoke about and focused on it. And here we are, they just turned it up on this day in a World Cup final. I couldn’t have asked for more,” Muzumdar said.