Navi Mumbai: Following India’s maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title win at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday night, captain Harmanpreet Kaur approached head coach Amol Muzumdar and respectfully touched his feet. This gesture, a profound show of gratitude, highlighted the strong bond between the India skipper and Muzumdar, who took the helm of the team nearly 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,” shared the Mumbaikar. Muzumdar, a former domestic cricket powerhouse, amassed 11,167 runs in 171 first-class matches with an impressive average of 48.13 and 30 centuries during his playing career in the 1990s and 2000s. He spoke about the overwhelming emotion of coaching India to their first-ever World Cup crown.
Muzumdar’s coaching accolades include leading Mumbai to the Ranji Trophy title in the 2006-07 season and, more recently, guiding Mumbai to their first Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy title in 2022 with Ajinkya Rahane as captain.
Reflecting on the final moments, Muzumdar admitted he couldn’t fully recall the immediate aftermath of Harmanpreet taking the final catch that dismissed the last South Africa batter. “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.”
Discussing his dynamic with Harmanpreet and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, with whom he shared long embraces after the triumph, Muzumdar stated, “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.”
Muzumdar hailed India’s World Cup victory as a “watershed moment in Indian cricket, and not just Indian women’s cricket.” He illustrated the impact with a touching anecdote: “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.”
Describing India’s challenging World Cup journey, which saw them lose three consecutive games before mounting a spectacular comeback with three wins against powerhouse SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries, Muzumdar revealed his consistent message to the players: “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 highlighted India’s opening World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Guwahati, which they won by 59 runs via the DLS method, as the pivotal “turning point” of their campaign. India found themselves at a precarious 124 for six in 27 overs before Amanjot Kaur (57) and Deepti Sharma (53) forged a crucial 103-run seventh-wicket partnership, propelling the team to 269 for eight in 47 overs.
“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.”