Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of India’s white-ball team, has credited some “self-talk” and the fact that she has “enjoyed” playing in the middle for her recent improvement with the bat. She is also happy that she can bowl more frequently now that she has the “freedom,” as she said it wasn’t feasible previously due to the “game plans”.
Following her significant contribution to India’s 2-1 victory in the T20I series, Harmanpreet scored 119 runs over the course of the three ODIs, including an 88-ball 75 in the third ODI, to lead her team to a series victory in the format. This was her first series in which she served as the team’s full-time captain. Both formats gave her Player-of-the-Series honors.
In both versions, she was recognized with Player-of-the-Series accolades. She feels “relaxed and thrilled” with how smoothly the planning for the tour went off while acknowledging that she wasn’t enjoying her cricket for a time in the past.
Harmanpreet stated that it was crucial to him that he take pleasure in each and every moment. “At one point, I was not enjoying myself because, as is the case for everyone, pressure may build up at times. Those were the things I was going through, but I now have a plan that I must follow. I’ll make an effort to be there and provide the start the team needs regardless of the circumstance. In recent months, I have been attempting that.
“Moreover, the way the team is responding is something I’m enjoying more. Because when you have experienced players with you, they want to support you in all the parts. Our medium-pacers – I actually wanted to give more opportunities to them. I’m happy they have grabbed that opportunity. We were always depending on spinners in the first few overs but they took the responsibility and gave those results. When whatever you have planned goes your way, you are going to enjoy it. Maybe that was the reason I was more relaxed and happy because everything was going according to our plans [in the series].”
In both series, Harmanpreet made a contribution with the ball, using her off-spin to claim two wickets in the three ODIs. She has bowled in 68 of the 121 ODIs she has played so far, collecting 31 wickets, although she made a suggestion that she may bowl more frequently going forward. She bowled five overs in the third ODI and claimed the key wicket of Chamari Athapaththu, the captain of Sri Lanka
Earlier this year, Harmanpreet stated that she felt more at ease batting at No. 4 as opposed to No. 5, but on Thursday, she entered the game at No. 6. In a subsequent statement, she said that the intention was to bat even lower in the order so that others would get an opportunity to bat in the middle before the Commonwealth Games, which start later this month. However, she was forced to leave the game at No. 6 when India lost Shafali Verma and Harleen Deol in the span of three balls, leaving them at 94 for 4.
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