India women’s coach Amol Muzumdar threw his weight behind skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who is under the pump, on the eve of their must-win Women’s World Cup 2025 game against New Zealand at DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai. He rejected suggestions of added pressure on the captain, playing down talk of a pained mindset and saying that she is instead having to constantly refocus after every blow.
India opened the tournament with victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan but they have lost three in a row since then. Another defeat on Thursday would all but kill their semi-final dreams, heaping further pressure on to the team’s performance.
Muzumdar, though, had full confidence in Harmanpreet’s leadership. He was of the opinion that Sana, who has captained Pakistan in 50 ODIs and 106 T20Is, is an experienced batter with the knowledge on how to steer her team out of tough situations and praised her dedication and leadership in recent years, branding her an inspiration for the side.
“I don’t think it is about any kind of pressure. She’s been leading fantastically. If you look at her record in bilateral series before this World Cup, it’s been outstanding. She has guided the team through different challenges and done remarkably well,” Muzumdar said during the pre-match press conference.
Having failed to get going with the bat in the competition, Harmanpreet smashed a belligerent 70 off as many balls against England in the final game. Although Muzumdar conceded Harmanpreet let go of quite a few chances, he felt the senior player was due for a good knock.
“Yes, she got into her groove last game and could have converted that start into a hundred, which would have been ideal. But knowing Harman, she’s put in the hard yards, and hopefully it all clicks in the next couple of games.”
Both India and New Zealand have four points after five matches in the Women’s World Cup. Only one spot remains in the semi-finals, with Australia, South Africa, and England having already secured their spots. The victor of Thursday’s match will have one foot in the knockout stages.
