Though Amanjot’s bowling wasn’t at its best, her fielding turned the tide. She first struck with a brilliant direct hit from short extra cover to run out opener Tazmin Brits (23) in the 10th over
India’s Amanjot Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues celebrate the wicket of South Africa’s Tazmin Brits during the ICC Women’s World Cup final at the DY Patil Stadium. Pic/PTI
Catches win matches”, a timeless phrase in cricket that every coach drills into budding players. India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev’s iconic running catch to dismiss West Indies legend Viv Richards off Madan Lal at Lord’s didn’t just win India its maiden title; it changed the course of Indian cricket forever.
Four decades later, Indian all-rounder Amanjot Kaur recreated a similar moment of magic at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, helping India clinch their first-ever Women’s World Cup with a 52-run victory over South Africa.
Though Amanjot’s bowling wasn’t at its best, her fielding turned the tide. She first struck with a brilliant direct hit from short extra cover to run out opener Tazmin Brits (23) in the 10th over. But it was her stunning, nerve-wracking catch of Proteas skipper Laura Wolvaardt that sealed India’s triumph.
Wolvaardt, who was on a fighting 101 off 98 balls, looked set to launch another counter-attack during the chase of 299. Off-spinner Deepti Sharma (5-39) tossed one up, and Wolvaardt went for the big slog sweep toward deep mid-wicket. Amanjot sprinted in, fumbled once, juggled it twice, and finally clutched it safely on her third attempt before crashing to the turf in relief — a moment instantly reminiscent of Kapil’s heroics at Lord’s.
“My god, it was the toughest catch of my life,” Amanjot admitted. “I’ve never fumbled before; I either take them or drop them. But this time, god gave me three chances! It was a crucial catch. We knew she [Wolvaardt] would attack after her century.”
Amanjot, who scored 12 off 14 balls while batting at No. 6 and conceded 34 runs from four overs, reserved special praise for teammate Deepti Sharma, who played the all-rounder’s role to perfection with a run-a-ball 58 and a five-wicket haul.
“You can pull out any match when Deepti’s playing, there’s always some other record-breaking. She’s the glue that holds our team together, whether it’s batting, bowling, or fielding,” Amanjot said.
299
Target set for SA by India
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