Bengaluru, Feb 22: Amanjot Kaur’s all-round brilliance sealed Mumbai Indians’ four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but apart from the teammates her coaches, whom she had promised a stellar effort in the WPL, too might have shed tears of happiness after a challenging night.
The 25-year-old Kaur, who was sidelined by a back stress fracture requiring surgery and a ligament tear in her hand after last year’s WPL, claimed three wickets for 22 runs before blasting a 27-ball 34 to help MI chase down 167 with one ball to spare here on Friday.
“I just want to carry forward this momentum and finish matches, whether it is for MI or for India. I don’t want to leave anything out there. Those six to eight months were very crucial for me. Blessed and grateful for that phase to have come in my life,” Amanjot told reporters.
“I am sure they must have cried happy tears – Nagesh sir and Tanuja ma’am (Personal Coach and S&C). Throughout the time, they were with me. They were just waiting for me to get back on the field. Nagesh sir hadn’t seen me bowl for a while. It must have been a big day for him. They’ll have a good night’s sleep today.”
With Mumbai at a shaky 82 for 4, Harmanpreet Kaur (50) and Amanjot shared a crucial 62-run partnership off 49 balls to rebuild the chase, but Georgia Wareham broke the stand in the 18th over.
Sajana Sajeevan was out LBW next ball, and the chase seemed to falter with Mumbai needing 22 from the last 12 balls.
RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana then handed the ball to off-spinner Kaniha Ahuja, and Amanjot smacked the first ball for a six before dispatching the final ball over long-on for another maximum.
“Harman (Kaur) di just told me, ‘If you stay out there, you’ll be able to do it easily’. I told her, ‘Yes, it’s easy for you (laughs),’” Amanjot said.
“I knew either Ekta (Bisht) di would bowl or it would have to be some new bowler because everyone else had bowled out their quota of overs. I didn’t want to take it to the last over because sometimes shots don’t come off well under pressure. I wanted to get it to at least a run a ball in the 20th over.
“I knew it would be tough for the new batter. I’ve faced Kanika for a long time and know how she bowls. It was God’s plan. I wasn’t thinking a lot. I knew I would have to hit either four boundaries or two sixes.
“I knew the lengths Kanika would bowl and how to hit her risk-free. I didn’t want to leave it for anyone else. I left it in the first game and we lost it.”
Reflecting on her injury phase, Amanjot said: “You feel bad. I never ate unhealthy and I used to be very fit, so I never expected to get injured. But there was no change in the mindset.
“There were a lot of cricketers at the NCA, so speaking to them helped. Guys like Riyan Parag, Khaleel Ahmed, Surya bhai (SuryakumarYadav) were here. I would watch their discussions and that helped me a lot.”
Talking about her preparation leading into the WPL, Amanjot said: “There was nothing special in the preparations. I played the Challengers after the injury, followed by the WPL camp. Kiran (More) sir would keep calling me when I was at the NCA to ask if I needed something.
“As soon as the Challengers ended, I went to Vadodara and we started the camp there with Kiran sir. I knew there would be more responsibility on me because Pooja (Vastrakar) wouldn’t be there. I knew I would get the opportunities and that I just had to finish games,” she signed off. (PTI)
