“I think we were in the game until the end, just that Australia experience helped them overcome,” Muzumdar said closer to the sport. “A little disappointed with the loss. I feel like we played pretty well. A couple of opportunities could have been taken and things could have been different.”
The Republic of India lost three catches, missed a catch and a depletion opportunity on farmland. The Republic of India also had a similar lbw name from Phoebe Litchfield Travel in favor of Australia.
Litchfield, a left-handed batsman, was on 5 when she was hit home during a Deepti Sharma delivery while attempting an opposite sweep, but was reprieved closer to taking a better assessment from the ball. [accounting for her not having changed her stance before delivery] leg thrown into the open air. Litchfield added 10 more, including six off the last ball to put India Republic on 152 goals, the easiest team overall at this venue in this tournament. The next easiest was also Australia’s 148 against the last generation of Zealand.
Muzumdar was clear that he was crucial in the resolution of Litchfield, but did not hesitate to say that “it was crucial.” It also gave a glimpse into the team’s train of thoughts in the middle of their chase, from where Republic of India needed 85 with Harmanpreet and Deepti on the line. The pair added 63 off 55 balls but went through a six-over spell where they controlled just three boundaries. He left them wanting 70 from the last seven overs.
“First of all, it was about the chase,” Muzumdar said in the chat at the 10+ mark. “The second was to keep the net run rate also within limits. But the only message was that if we go a little deeper, then we have a good chance of chasing. That was the only message for Harman and Deepti. I think the presence of Harman was very important until the end, that’s what I felt in the chase and I almost made it.”
“I think in terms of preparation, we had everything going in that camp in Bengaluru,” he said. “We had two camps; one was dedicated to fitness and field and the other was just the skills camp. Because we had about eight weeks to prepare.
“So, I couldn’t have asked more from my team of support staff and I couldn’t have asked more from the players. They gave their best in those camps. The preparation for this International Cup was exhaustive. We made it to this International Cup very optimistic. Yes, losing both games in the league phase would be a negligible disappointment.”
India’s preparation for the match was quite smooth – they even managed to train twice in Sharjah before their first match of the competition there. They brought Pooja Vastrakar back into the XI after she had sufficiently recovered from a hamstring problem. That meant S Sajana had to make way. Muzumdar called this a no-brainer and, in retrospect, they wouldn’t have done anything differently.
“Look, we came to this job and Pooja was one of the easiest bowlers to get in the last 365 days,” Muzumdar explained. “Looking at her record and performances, she was one of the best players in the team and we had picked this XI. This was probably one of the best XIs we had.
“In these conditions, we wanted to have the sixth bowling option against Australia. I think they were probably one of the best teams to choose.” [for the tournament]. If you had chosen [the squad] Before the start of the tournament, I think you would have chosen this 15. So we stayed with it.”
“I think it’s been great to work with this group; we’re working with a very special group and we care about each other, and I think Harman is a very integral part of this team,” Muzumdar said. “It’s been a fantastic 10 months working with her and everyone else too. But yeah, I mean she’s fine. She’s going through a lot of pain.
“She got hit on the head right at the beginning of the tournament, right before the Unused Zealand game, I think a night before when we were training. But she’s great. I think she’s struggling with it, and you’ll see. However, she’s a workhorse. So, I think she’s doing her job. [usually]. It has been working especially for the last 10 months and I am looking forward to it. [going forward]”.
Shashank Kishore is Senior Deputy Editor at ESPNcricinfo
