Felt good to see 86,000 people cheering after playing in empty stadiums, reveals Harmanpreet Kaur

India’s final encounter in the Women’s T20 World Cup was at the mighty MCG against Australia in front of an 86,000 capacity audience. While it was the first time that so many people have hit the stadium for a women’s encounter, India women's skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has admitted that the crowd motivated them. She added that the team were enjoying playing in front of a packed stadium while admitting that they were ready physically and mentally for the final. 

“We enjoy packed stadiums and the crowd appreciating our effort. Some of us know how it feels to play in front of empty stands, so we enjoy this environment. I don’t think any member of the team was feeling the pressure of showing their skills under the huge crowds,” she told Mumbai Mirror. 

When asked about the final at the MCG, she admitted that they were up for the challenge, playing against Australia. On the day, India were guilty of two drop catches early on in the innings, which allowed the Australian team to score over 170 on the day.

At the end of the day, the difference between chasing 130 and 180 got to the Indian batting unit, as they eventually ending up losing to the hosts. 

“The Indian team had done well in the last two-three years, so we had expectations from ourselves. We were ready both mentally and skill-wise. We had our chances in the final when we fielded, but unfortunately, we couldn’t make full use of them. It was one of those days when whatever we were doing was not going in our favour. That was the turning point of the game. If we had grabbed those chances we could have stopped them at 130-140. And while chasing, our approach would have been totally different,” she added.