Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Alyssa Healy believes Harmanpreet Kaur’s run-out in the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final was down to lack of “genuine effort” and not luck.
Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues’ fourth wicket partnership of 69 runs in 41 balls brought the Indian team closer to victory against Australia.
But while trying to complete the second run in the 15th over, Harmanpreet’s bat got stuck in the pitch and Healy scattered the balls to run out the Indian captain. The match turned from here and a narrow five-run defeat ended the Indian team’s World Cup campaign.
“It’s a bizarre case and I mean Harmanpreet can say she was unlucky but I think her effort fell short and she probably was,” Healy said in a video released on Twitter by ABC Sports on Sunday. Could have crossed the crease. It was just a matter of two meters if she made an honest effort. We do not regret it.
After the match, Harmanpreet had said with tears in her eyes, “I cannot feel more unfortunate than this. But Healy did not hold back in taunting him.
“You can say you’ve been unlucky your whole life, but it’s usually about the effort and energy put in at the time,” Healy said.
“It is all about running between the wickets. It’s about getting those little basics better than the opposition and big tournaments can be won that way. I think we are doing it pretty well. Healy said she refrains from scattering the wickets if there is a problem with the batsman but that was not the case with Harmanpreet.
