Pitch was not easy to score runs on, says Harmanpreet after win that sees them go on top of the table after 2 games.
Harmanpreet Kaur expressed her happiness after India won the 2025 ODI women’s World Cup for the second time in a row. She called Sunday’s 88-run victory over Pakistan in Colombo a “important game for all of us,” but it wasn’t without its share of butterflies.
India’s lower order saved them in their debut match against Sri Lanka, setting them a score that their spinners were able to defend. India had trouble gaining momentum for a large portion of their batting innings. At one point, they were in danger of being bowled out after slipping to 203 for 7, but Richa Ghosh’s undefeated 35 off 20 helped them to 247.
“To be honest, it wasn’t an easy pitch to bat,” Harmanpreet said. “We just wanted to bat longer and see how many runs we can get. When we played here in the tri-series [in May], the pitches were different. But with the rain over the last two days, there was a bit of a hold on the pitch. The key was to keep wickets in the end so that we could execute.”
Kaur impressed with Kranti Gaud
Ghosh gave India the impetus in the final overs by doing just that. Fast bowler Kranti Goud was another important contributor. He made the initial breakthroughs before Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana were among the wickets, as Pakistani batsmen missed consecutive huge knocks as the asking rate rose.
With her 3 for 20, which featured the dismissals of Sadaf Shamas and Aliya Riyaz within the first 10 overs to put Pakistan behind them, Goud, 22, was named Player of the Match.
Goud bowled with pace, got the new ball to dart around and in general troubled batters with her zip off the pitch. “Kranti bowled really well,” Harmanpreet acknowledged. “Renuka [Singh] was helping her from the other end, to get breakthroughs for us.”
Fielding woes remain
India failed to perform well on the pitch, dropping four catches, including three off Pakistan’s highest scorer, Sidra Amin. They also had inconsistent ground fielding, which is a problem that is gradually starting to bother them.
“We let ourselves down on the field, we got so many chances which we unfortunately dropped, but in the end, when you win, you feel happy.”
What next for India
India will now play their next two matches at Visakhapatnam against Australia on October 12 and South Africa on October 9. Before they refocus, Harmanpreet wants the team to enjoy the moment of victory and think back on a job well done.
“There are a lot of areas to work on but right now I’m happy that we won this game,” Harmanpreet said. “We just want to go with that momentum. We go back to India now, where we know how the pitch will play. Let’s see what is the best combination that we can come up with and how we can improve day by day.”