Navi Mumbai: Moments after leading India to their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday night, captain Harmanpreet Kaur walked up to head coach Amol Muzumdar and touched his feet. The gesture, seen as a mark of respect and gratitude, reflected the strong bond between the India skipper and Muzumdar, who took charge of the team almost two years ago in December 2023.
"Unbelievably unbelievable. It has not sunk in as of now, but I'm sure that as the days go by, it will probably sink in. But it's a surreal feeling," responded the Mumbaikar, a former domestic cricket batting stalwart who made 11,167 runs in 171 first-class matches at an average of 48.13, with 30 centuries, in the 1990s and 2000s, when asked about the feeling of having coached India to their first-ever World Cup crown.
Muzumdar captained Mumbai to the Ranji Trophy title in the 2006-07 season and later also coached Mumbai to their first Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy title in 2022 with Ajinkya Rahane as captain.
Muzumdar didn't even remember what happened after Harmanpreet took the catch to dismiss the last South Africa batter and ran near the boundary, with her teammates chasing her. "After the catch, I don't know what happened. The next five minutes were blurred. I was looking up in the dugout. I don't know what happened, what transpired in the next five minutes. Everybody was hugging. So, it was an emotional moment for everyone."
Later, talking about his equation with Harman and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana — he shared long hugs with each after the triumph — Muzumdar said, "Harman and I don't speak much. With Smriti, I discuss a lot of things about batting and planning. I share a very good working relationship with Harman. And so it should be. A coach and captain need to be on one page. We are always on the same page," he said.
Terming India's World Cup victory on Sunday night as a "watershed moment in Indian cricket, and not just Indian women's cricket," Muzumdar gave a beautiful illustration while explaining the impact of India's World Cup win.
"I just met a three- or four-year-old girl whose inspiration is Harman. She follows Harman wherever she goes. When you have these matches, such kids are inspired. So, there you go. I mean, the DY Patil Stadium was packed, and not just the stadium, I don't know how many crores of people must have watched the final on television. And I'm sure from there, some of them must have got inspired. You never know. Like 1983 — it inspired a lot of cricketers in that generation," said the India women’s team coach.
Describing India's World Cup journey, which saw them lose three games on the bounce before they fought back with three wins against SENA countries, Muzumdar said, "I kept telling the players that we have not lost the game, we just were not able to cross the line. We were competitive in those matches. We were very close to beating South Africa, Australia, and England. But the grit and determination that the girls have shown has been just phenomenal — against New Zealand in a virtual quarterfinal, the semifinals against Australia, and then against South Africa in the final," he praised.
Muzumdar pointed out that India's opening match of the World Cup against Sri Lanka at Guwahati, which they won by 59 runs via the DLS method, was the "turning point" of their campaign. India were 124 for six in 27 overs before Amanjot Kaur (57) and Deepti Sharma (53) took them to 269 for eight in 47 overs with their 103-run stand for the seventh wicket.
"I think that right from the start, the mood was set in Guwahati, beating Sri Lanka, and we had a series of camps before we set off for the World Cup. So, Guwahati was a turning point. When we entered the ground at Guwahati, everything turned around."
"Unbelievably unbelievable. It has not sunk in as of now, but I'm sure that as the days go by, it will probably sink in. But it's a surreal feeling," responded the Mumbaikar, a former domestic cricket batting stalwart who made 11,167 runs in 171 first-class matches at an average of 48.13, with 30 centuries, in the 1990s and 2000s, when asked about the feeling of having coached India to their first-ever World Cup crown.
Muzumdar captained Mumbai to the Ranji Trophy title in the 2006-07 season and later also coached Mumbai to their first Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy title in 2022 with Ajinkya Rahane as captain.
Muzumdar didn't even remember what happened after Harmanpreet took the catch to dismiss the last South Africa batter and ran near the boundary, with her teammates chasing her. "After the catch, I don't know what happened. The next five minutes were blurred. I was looking up in the dugout. I don't know what happened, what transpired in the next five minutes. Everybody was hugging. So, it was an emotional moment for everyone."
Later, talking about his equation with Harman and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana — he shared long hugs with each after the triumph — Muzumdar said, "Harman and I don't speak much. With Smriti, I discuss a lot of things about batting and planning. I share a very good working relationship with Harman. And so it should be. A coach and captain need to be on one page. We are always on the same page," he said.
Terming India's World Cup victory on Sunday night as a "watershed moment in Indian cricket, and not just Indian women's cricket," Muzumdar gave a beautiful illustration while explaining the impact of India's World Cup win.
"I just met a three- or four-year-old girl whose inspiration is Harman. She follows Harman wherever she goes. When you have these matches, such kids are inspired. So, there you go. I mean, the DY Patil Stadium was packed, and not just the stadium, I don't know how many crores of people must have watched the final on television. And I'm sure from there, some of them must have got inspired. You never know. Like 1983 — it inspired a lot of cricketers in that generation," said the India women’s team coach.
Describing India's World Cup journey, which saw them lose three games on the bounce before they fought back with three wins against SENA countries, Muzumdar said, "I kept telling the players that we have not lost the game, we just were not able to cross the line. We were competitive in those matches. We were very close to beating South Africa, Australia, and England. But the grit and determination that the girls have shown has been just phenomenal — against New Zealand in a virtual quarterfinal, the semifinals against Australia, and then against South Africa in the final," he praised.
Muzumdar pointed out that India's opening match of the World Cup against Sri Lanka at Guwahati, which they won by 59 runs via the DLS method, was the "turning point" of their campaign. India were 124 for six in 27 overs before Amanjot Kaur (57) and Deepti Sharma (53) took them to 269 for eight in 47 overs with their 103-run stand for the seventh wicket.
"I think that right from the start, the mood was set in Guwahati, beating Sri Lanka, and we had a series of camps before we set off for the World Cup. So, Guwahati was a turning point. When we entered the ground at Guwahati, everything turned around."
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