The former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was not happy at all with the way the Indian women’s team capitulated in the final of the Commonwealth games against Australia yesterday. India were chasing a fairly decent target of 162, but they were on the driving seat at one point of time as they needed just 44 runs off 34 balls with 8 wickets in hand.
But, once the third wicket fell in the form of Jemimah Rodrigues, who was looking to go inside out over off side, the Indian team just didn’t seem to handle the pressure after that. Pooja Vastrakar was promoted up the order to play some big shots and get the required run rate further down, but that move backfired as Pooja couldn’t get going at all.
The Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who played brilliantly under pressure for her half century, fell during that phase of the innings as well and after that, no batter in the line up was able to keep up with the required run rate, while keeping her wicket intact.
Cricket is a team game but Harmanpreet Kaur should have finished the chase. She broke my heart with that silly shot when she had the bowlers at her mercy. She can make amends in the World Cup final by sealing the contest like a true captain ❤️
— Vijay Lokapally 🇮🇳 (@vijaylokapally) August 7, 2022
There was an odd boundary or two hit here and there, but India just lost so many wickets in clusters that it became way too easy for Australia to close out the game. Mohammed Azharuddin was disappointed with the fact that the Indian team loosened the grip on the game after having it completely in their grasp.
Rubbish batting by the Indian team. No common sense. Gave away a winning game on a platter. #INDvsAUS #WomensCricket #CWG22
— Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) August 7, 2022
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Mohammed Azharuddin captained India in three ODI World Cups
Azharuddin, who is the only Indian captain till date to have captained in three ODI World Cups, called the batting performance of Indian women’s team “rubbish”.
It was the first time that women’s cricket was a part of the Commonwealth games and the Indian team would have created history if they were able to win the gold medal in the first attempt itself. However, their campaign was still a successful one as they ended on the podium with a silver medal.
