India women's suffered a defeat against Australia by five runs in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup on Thursday. India had nearly pulled off a win in the match, riding on skipper Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues' 69-run partnership off 41 deliveries. However, Harmanpreet's run-out turned the tables. Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy feels it wasn't luck but a lack of "genuine effort" by Harmanpreet that resulted in the fall of the wicket.
In the 15th over of India's innings, Harmanpreet's bat got stuck on the ground while trying to complete a second run and Healy was quick to take the bails off which resulted in the shift of momentum.
"I mean Harmanpreet can say all she likes that it was so unlucky, but I mean at the end of the day she cruised back and probably could have passed the crease, you know, an extra two meters if she genuinely put in the effort. So we'll take it," Healy said in a video.
After the game, a tearful Harmanpreet had said "can't feel unluckier than this." She also expressed her take on the way she got dismissed.
"Definitely, it was a disappointment because of the way I was batting, maybe that was the only chance to know how I can get out. If my bat didn't get stuck and I would've easily finished that run," she said. "If I had stayed till the last moment, we could have definitely finished the match one over earlier as we had the momentum," she added.
Healy, however, has a different take on the entire situation.
"You could say you're unlucky all your life, but it's generally about effort and energy at that moment in time. And I know that's something we speak about in the field, in particular, is putting in that effort and putting in that energy," Healy said.
"That comes back to running between wickets as well. It's doing those little basics better than the opposition and that's how you win big tournaments. And I feel like we've been doing that quite well," added Healy.
Five-time champions Australia will face the hosts South Africa in the final clash on Sunday.
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