MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians became the first team to lift the title of the inaugural Women’s Premier League on Sunday. MI’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur revealed what this moment meant for her as a captain and a player in the post-match conference.
“Personally I was waiting for this moment for a long time when I can as a captain win something which is so important for women’s cricket and this time we were able to do it and I think I just want to keep doing this in future also and I hope the momentum we got in this tournament we want to continue for the next season also and all the Indian players who ever did well and I am hoping that whenever they join Indian team they will also give their 100% for the Indian team also,” said Harmanpreet Kaur.
MI bowlers played a crucial part at the end of the day to hand MI victory over Delhi Capitals. Their ruthless aggressive bowling kept the pressure on Delhi Capitals throughout the first innings. Harmanpreet shed some light on why their bowlers were more effective than DC bowlers.
“I think when we were bowling we knew that we had the capacity to all out any team. The most important thing was that every bowler had their own plans and they stuck to them. If you keep changing the bowling style and you don’t stick to your plans, then it becomes difficult for you. I think the reason we ended up getting so many wickets was that they implemented it during the match. They were never stuck in two minds. So when you enter the match with a clear brain you always get results so I think that was the reason our bowlers were able to get so many wickets,” Harmanpreet continued.
The final moment of the game was defined by the calmness of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr. Even though there was a significant gap between the number of runs and balls, Nat and Kerr maintained their cool and waited for the right moment. Harmanpreet reflected on why this can turn out to be a game changer.
“I think the pressure on this level and despite that how you can keep yourself calm and do well for the team that is something you have to learn otherwise I don’t think on skill basis nobody is above or below because everybody is working so hard and even in fitness they are doing so well so the important thing is how strong you are mentally and how well you can perform on the field which you have to learn from international players. I think we have seen that calmness from Nat, Matthews was outstanding and Amelia was doing so well so I think that is one thing a domestic player should learn from the international player. So I am sure whenever they had a chance they learned something from them and next season these things will help them,” said the right hander batter.
Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten half-century and tight spells from bowlers helped Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 7 wickets to become the inaugural champions of Women’s Premier League 2023 (WPL) at Brabourne Stadium on Sunday. (ANI)