Indian team working on "mental strength" to tackle death overs in T20Is: Harmanpreet Kaur
Indian women's cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur has revealed that her players have been working on building "mental strength" to counter death overs in T20Is ahead of this year's T20 World Cup in the UAE. She believes gaining more mental stability can help them execute their plans better in high-pressure situations.
Harmanpreet has been a champion for mental health and conditioning in her team for a long time. The team also hired a psychologist to help the players during their off-season camp in Bengaluru after the runners-up finish in the Women's Asia Cup.
"We have been working on mental strength for a long time. The last 3-4 overs are the most crucial. T20 cricket is not a small format; at the end of the day, you are playing 40 overs," Harmanpreet told Star Sports. "In the last 4-5 overs, the team that is mentally strong wins the match. We have been focusing on this for a while. If we can remain mentally stable in those final five overs, we can execute what’s best for us."
"We are working on those aspects, and hopefully, we will overcome this hurdle in the tournament," she added.
India have lost a few important games in final overs in the recent past, including the finals of the 2017 ODI World Cup in England and the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia. Even in last year's T20 World Cup, India failed to chase down 39 runs off the last five overs despite having five wickets in hand.
"You can only experience that in sports" - Harmanpreet Kaur on team's diversity
Harmanpreet also pointed out to one of her team's biggest strengths -- diversity, and the willingness to learn from each other. She said such an experience was exclusive to sports and sportspersons.
"All the players in our team come from different states. It feels good when you see so many different characters in the team. People from various states share the dressing room, and you get to learn about their cultures. I think you can only experience that in sports, not in any other career," Harmanpreet added.
Harmanpreet's team will face New Zealand on October 4 in Dubai to kick off their 2024 T20 World Cup charge.