India’s vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur feels her career-defining innings of 171 against Australia in the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup has become her own benchmark in terms of what she is capable of in ODI cricket. Of late, Harmanpreet was battling with poor form in 2021 due to injuries and Covid-19.
Many critics have said that he is in the team because of his unbeaten 171 runs. But ahead of the Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, Harmanpreet is showing signs of getting back into form, scoring 63 off 66 in the final ODI against New Zealand. After this, scored 104 against South Africa in the practice match on Sunday.
He said, ‘I know people talk a lot about my 171 innings. I think it’s like the standard I set; I can play this kind of cricket. Maybe that’s one reason why my short, crucial 40-50 innings don’t get much importance for the team. I don’t judge myself by numbers.
“What is more important to me is that the runs scored by me should benefit the team, whether it is 100 runs or 10 runs. Numbers don’t matter, what matters is when the team needs me, I should be there and play according to the situation,” Harmanpreet said in a virtual press conference.
Talking about the importance of her last two innings in the format, Harmanpreet, who missed the practice match against West Indies due to a wrist ache, explained, “Well, I have high expectations of myself as I am in the team. I know my importance , I always want to do well but sometimes things are not in your favor. But what I played in the last two innings gave me a lot of confidence.
He said, ‘There have been many ups and downs in the performance of cricket. But now, scored a century in the last game. Even before this, the half-century against New Zealand was very important for me. I found the rhythm I needed; I got it now. Now, it’s very important for me to continue.”
For now, Harmanpreet believes she will bat at number five but is ready to be flexible as to the demands of the team.
“Look, discussions keep happening. I am more comfortable at number four. But sometimes you have to play according to the demand of the team. Right now I will play only at number five. The position may change in future as per the match situation.”
Harmanpreet signed on, pointing to the runs scored in the last 10 overs as a point of improvement in the Indian batting order. “As a batting unit, we are working on building partnerships together, from top to bottom in the batting order. That is why we have been able to score more than 250 runs in the last five-six matches.
“There are some areas, like the last five overs, where we were not getting enough runs. Scoring more runs in the final overs will be really important for us going forward. Otherwise, we solve 40 overs but we as a batting unit need to improve in the crucial last 10 overs.”
Get all the latest updates cricket news, cricket pictures, cricket videos, IPL Auction 2022 And cricket score Here