Alyssa Healy on Harmanpreet Kaur run out: ‘If she genuinely put in the effort…’

Cape Town: Australia women’s cricket team member Alyssa Healy took a sly dig at India captain Harmanpreet Kaur – and her mode of dismissal during their semi-final at the Women’s T20 World Cup. Harmanpreet rued the “unlucky” run out on Thursday when her bat got stuck on the ground and she was caught short at the striker’s end.

Alyssa Healy said in an interview with ABC Sport: “Harmanpreet can say all she likes that it was so unlucky, but at the end of the day she cruised back and probably could have past the crease – you know, an extra two metres if she genuinely put in the effort.”

Analysis | The good, bad and ugly of Team India

“You could say you were unlucky all your life, but it’s generally about effort at that moment in time, and that’s something we speak about in the field in particular, in putting in that effort and putting in that energy – and I think that comes back to running between wickets as well.”

Having battled through fever and dehydration, Harmanpreet took the field in the pivotal clash. Chasing 173 runs, she and Jemimah Rodrigues fought their way to contention despite losing three early wickets.

They stitched a 50-run stand and later Harmanpreet brought up her own fifty-run milestone. But it wasn’t enough in the end as Australia won by 5 runs.

Harmanpreet, wearing sunglasses to hide away the tears, said, “The way I got run out, (it) can’t be unluckier than that. Putting the effort was important and we were happy to go to the last ball. We wanted to fight till the last ball.”

READ | ‘We will come back strongly’: Harmanpreet pens emotional note

Former England captain Nasser Hussain also critcised the mistake by Harmanpreet and labelled it “school girl error”. In response, the India skipper said, “I think it was unlucky but I don’t think it was a mistake by a schoolgirl because we are mature enough. We are playing international cricket and whatever he said, that’s his way of thinking. But I don’t think it was like that.”

The 33-year-old’s dismissal proved decisive as none of the remaining batters could take on the Aussie attack the way she had been doing through the middle overs. Richa Ghosh (14), Sneh Rana (11) and Radha Yadav (0) were all dismissed while playing attacking shots with backs against the wall.

Australia will contest the their seventh straight Women’s T20 World Cup final on Sunday and are gunning for a sixth title against South Africa.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.