After suffering a narrow nine-run defeat to Australia in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, India head coach Amol Muzumdar admitted things could have been different for his team if they had held on to couple of chances on the field. At the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, India dropped three catches, missed a stumping and a run-out chance as Australia made 151/8, the highest total at this venue in the ongoing tournament. In reply, despite captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 54 off 47, India fell short of chasing the total and ended up at 142/9.

“I think we were right in the game, right till the last over. Just that experience of Australia saw them through. Just a little disappointed with the loss. I feel we’ve fielded pretty well. But if a couple of chances could have been taken, then things could have been different. Maybe 10 -15 runs less, but at the same time, I would like to say that we put in our best effort forward in this game,” said Muzumdar after the match ended.

Asked about the mid-innings chat he had with Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma, who shared a partnership of 63 off 55 balls to keep India in the hunt, Muzumdar revealed, “First and foremost, it was about the run-chase. Second was keeping the net run rate also in bounds.”

“But the only message was if we take it a little deeper, then we do have a good chance to chase. That was the only message to Harman and Deepti. I think Harman’s presence was very important till the end, that is what I felt in the run chase, and almost got it through.”

Australia also had an lbw call of Phoebe Litchfield going in their favour. The left-handed batter tried to reverse sweep off Deepti and was adjudged lbw on five, but she got the on-field call to be reversed on review after the third umpire deemed the ball had pitched outside the line of the leg stump.

Quizzed about his view on that decision, Muzumdar remarked that it was a crucial one. “Well, I don’t know whether I’m qualified to answer about the umpires, but at the same time what I gathered from that non-dismissal is that she didn’t move before the ball was released. So, the leg mark, what was there, it stood as it is. That was my only understanding about it. Whether it was out or not, it was up to the umpires to decide on the third umpire.”

With Australia entering the semi-finals from Group A, it means India’s chances of entering the last four phase are totally dependent on the New Zealand-Pakistan clash on Monday. A win for New Zealand will mean a league-stage exit for India. “Well, I just want to wish Pakistan all the best. That’s all I can say. But we will be watching the game very closely, that’s for sure,” added Muzumdar.

He signed off by revealing Harmanpreet suffered a blow on her head prior before India’s tournament opening game against New Zealand, and had been playing in the tournament with immense pain.

“It’s been fantastic working with this lot; this is a very special lot that we’re working with, and we care about each other, and Harman is a very integral part of this team. It’s been a fantastic 10 months working with her and all others as well. I mean she’s fine. She’s going through a lot of pain.”

“She got hit on her head right at the start of the tournament, just before the New Zealand game, I think one night prior when we were practicing. But she’s fine. I think she’s battling with it, and you can see it, but she’s a workhorse. So, she goes about doing her business. It’s been special working for the last 10 months and I’m looking forward to it going forward.”

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