The Indian women’s squad fell short of their goal of 162 runs in 20 overs, ultimately losing against Australia by 9 runs.
In the summit match, India got off to a rough start after losing both of their openers, Smriti Mandhana (6) and Shafali Verma (11) cheaply, leaving them reeling at 22/2 after the first three overs. But then Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur teamed up in the middle to support the Women in Blue’s comeback with a 96-run stand for the second wicket.
Rodrigues made a run-a-ball 33 while Harmanpreet blasted a magnificent 65 off 43 balls. Although it appeared the pair would carry India to victory easily, they ended up losing their wickets in rapid succession as India lost its composure in the end and ultimately failed to complete the run chase.
Azharuddin, a former captain of India, criticised Harmanpreet & Co. on Twitter for their subpar performance in the championship game. Azharuddin criticised India for losing a game they had a good chance of winning and branded their batting “rubbish.”
Former captain tweeted, “ Rubbish batting by the Indian team. No common sense,’ after India women’s team lost the Gold match against Australia women in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.
His tweet quickly gained a lot of attention as many praised the women’s team for their achievements in the Commonwealth Games and criticised Azharuddin for making an offensive remark about the Indian squad. While one of the spectators mockingly questioned him about his successes against the Australians back when he was playing, another brought up the Indian men’s team’s dismal performance in the 1990s, when Azhar was the team’s captain.
Other users advised him to use better language and to show respect for the women’s team since they won the silver medal at the renowned competition. Another user thanked the girls for their efforts. One person responded to his tweet by claiming that he had no right to be critical of the girls because he had not shown appreciation for their performance when they had done well.
A user wrote, “ Excuse me sir, but how many world cup finals, okay semifinals, okay ANY knockout games did your team win against the Aussies in your day? And for your information, this team has WON a silver medal at the CWG! Show them some freaking respect, if you’re capable of that, of course!”