Watch: Anjum Chopra's Gesture As Harmanpreet Kaur Cries Inconsolably After India's T20 World Cup Heartbreak

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was distraught after her side narrowly lost out to Australia in the semi-final of the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup on Thursday. Harmanpreet's bizarre run out was the talking point of the match as it proved to be a game-changer. During the post-match presentation, an emotional Harmanpreet wore glasses to hide her tears. She later had to be consoled by former India player Anjum Chopra, who went on to hug Harmanpreet. On being asked about the incident and her gesture for Harmanpreet, Anjum said she was just trying to "lessen the sorrow"

"My intention was to give the captain some empathy because that's all I can offer from the outside. It was an emotional moment for both of us. India have reached the semi-finals a lot of times and they have lost. This is not the first time I've seen Harmanpreet bat like this. I have seen her battling her injuries and health Today she might not have even played but because this was a World Cup semi-final and because she was Harmanpreet Kaur," Anjum said in a video shared by ICC.

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"She is not the one who takes a backward step; she will go forward and a backward step, she will go forward and she did that. Today, before the match started, she was able to bring herself to a situation where she can play. She ran around in the field for 20 overs and then while batting, she rekindled India's hopes. Of course, Jemimah Rodrigues also played her part. I can understand what Harmanpreet Kaur must be going through. It was a player-to-player moment with her. I was just trying to lessen her sorrow," she added.

In the final, Australia posted a huge total of 172/4 in 20 overs after Beth Mooney and Meg Lanning smashed 54 and 49* runs respectively. 

Later, Team India lost three wickets within four overs but Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues brought a ray of hope for their side. 

However, India fell short by five runs and Australia reached into their seventh straight final in the history of the Women's T20 World Cups.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Women Australia Women Harmanpreet Kaur Anjum Chopra ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 Cricket