[WATCH] Anjum Chopra consoles heartbroken Harmanpreet Kaur after India Women’s loss in T20 World Cup semi-final
Anjum Chopra was seen consoling India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur after the Women in Blue lost to Australia by five runs in the first semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup on Thursday, February 23.
Harmanpreet scored a valiant 52 off 34 balls after India were set to chase 173. The captain and Jemimah Rodrigues (43 off 24) added 69 runs for the fourth wicket to lift the batting side after a poor start. However, Rodrigues was caught behind off Darcie Brown, while Harmanpreet was run out in an unlucky fashion after her bat got stuck in the ground.
Following India’s defeat, former captain Chopra was seen hugging and consoling Harmanpreet, who tried hard to fight back her tears.
The Indian Women skipper was down with a fever in the build-up to the match and even had to be admitted to a local hospital. There were concerns over whether she would be available for the semi-final against Australia.
In an interaction with Sanjana Ganesan on the ICC, Chopra opened up about her gesture of hugging a heartbroken Harmanpreet after India Women’s close loss to Australia in another knockout clash. She explained:
“My intention was to give the captain some empathy because that’s all I can offer from the outside. It was an emotional moment for both of us. India have reached the semi-finals a lot of times and have lost a lot of times. This is not the first time I’ve seen her play like this, I have also seen her battling injuries and her health.
“Today she might not have even played, but because it was the semi-final of a World Cup and she is a player who does not back down, but charges ahead, she did just that."
Harmanpreet struck six fours and a six and seemed to be taking India Women towards victory when she was run out in bizarre fashion, coming back for a second run.
“I can understand what she must be going through” - Anjum Chopra empathizes with Harmanpreet Kaur
Until Harmanpreet was at the crease, India Women seemed in control of the chase. However, as soon as she was dismissed, they lost their way and fell short of the target. Praising the Indian skipper for her valiant effort, Chopra added:
“Today (Thursday), before the match, she was able to bring herself to play this match and continued it while fielding - running all over the ground. The captain said 'I’ll go everywhere' and then, while batting, she rekindled India’s hopes.
"Jemimah Rodrigues was also a part of it. India lost by 5 runs, but the way this match went, I can understand what she must be going through.”
India Women pacer Pooja Vastrakar was ruled out of the semi-final clash ahead of the knockout clash and was replaced by Sneh Rana.