“ Hum bane hi hai udne ke liye. Thairaav ayega par hum udna nahi bhulenge (I’m made for flying. There will be obstacles, but I’ll never forget how to fly).”
With an imperious showing with bat and ball for Mumbai Indians against Royal Challengers Bengaluru here, Amanjot Kaur has finally taken flight in the Women’s Premier League.
Her match-winning knock of 34 not out off 27 balls and 3/22 figures with the ball not only earned her the ‘Player of the Match’ award but validated her reputation as a dependable allround option for the MI management to give more chances to this season.
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Amanjot’s first chance to make an impression in this game came in the 14th over of the RCB batting innings. Two set batters —Richa Ghosh and Ellyse Perry — were rebuilding the home side’s innings after an early wobble. While handing her statemate the ball, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s message to the 25-year-old was clear.
“Our plan was simple. We don’t want to leak runs. We had put the pressure on them and taken some early wickets. And the wicket was very good for batting. We tried to cut the boundaries and bowl stump-to-stump, according to the field and slightly slower,” Amanjot told reporters after the match.
The plan worked instantly. Cramping batters for space, Amanjot finally got the better of Richa, with the keeper-batter watching her off stump skittled after being beaten by a length delivery.
After sending a potentially dangerous Georgia Wareheam back to the hut for a low score, Amanjot was handled the ball for the crucial last over. She conceded two boundaries, in trying to employ the yorker and the leg cutter. Amanjot had the laugh last, taking the prized wicket of Perry, who departed for a 43-ball 81.
In a venue that loves its chases, a target of 168 was within reach. All MI needed were partnerships. Amanjot paired up with Harmanpreet to swing momentum in their side’s favour when the going got tough.
“Our plan was simple. We don’t want to leak runs.”
| Photo Credit:
K. Murali Kumar/The Hindu
“Our plan was simple. We don’t want to leak runs.”
| Photo Credit:
K. Murali Kumar/The Hindu
With MI at 82/4 at the halfway mark, the Kaur duo stitched a 62-run partnership for the fifth wicket which steadied the visitor. However, Wareham struck in the 18th over with two wickets in two balls, including the key scalp of Harmanpreet.
Amanjot’s spirits did not shake. After all, she had her skipper’s trust.
Riding on that belief, she smacked Kanika Ahuja — a bowler she knows in and out from the years spent together in the domestic circuit — for a couple of sixes in the penultimate over.
“I knew it was either Ekta di or a new bowler because others had already bowled out,” Amanjot recalled.
“I didn’t want to drag the match to the 20th over, because pressure can affect our shots. I wanted to finish the match in the 19th over, or at least take it to run-a-ball because the new batter will take time to settle down. I didn’t want the pressure to fall on them. And I knew if Kanika came to bowl, I would know her style because I have played with her a lot.”
Blessing in disguise
Amanjot was coming into the third edition of the WPL on the back of a long injury lay-off, which kept her out of action for more than six months. Last May, she suffered a stress fracture and a ligament tear in her hand, which required surgery. While she did spend the first few weeks of her time away from cricket in disbelief, the player looked at it positively.
“Those 6-8 months were quite crucial for me. I have no regrets, rather I feel blessed and grateful that that phase came to my life. I got to learn a lot. That phase had two people, Nagesh sir and Tanuja ma’am, both of whom must have cried tears of joy tonight. They were with me throughout my injury. Both of them will sleep well tonight,” a smiling Amanjot said.
“In the first few weeks of my injury, I used to annoy my trainers a lot. I never expected to get injured because I maintain my fitness, my diet, and I like going to the gym. There wasn’t any change in the mindset. There was cricket happening all around and I was surrounded by people like Riyan Parag, Khaleel Ahmed, even Surya bhai, who would talk about matches.”Amanjot Kaur
Nagesh Gupta and Tanuja Lele are Amanjot’s coach and strength and conditioning trainer respectively.
“It was important to make her realise that it was going to take time,” Nagesh, who’s been Amanjot’s coach since 2016, told Sportstar on the player’s injury period. “Instead of crying about it, we told her to accept it as a challenge. I told her to pick up some life and cricket skills she can learn off the field. She did that which helped her to be humble.”
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The Senior Women’s ODI Challenger Trophy was the first tournament she played after recovering, where she finished with 97 runs and took six wickets in four matches. After that came the WPL camp.
“At NCA, I used to get calls from Kiran [More] sir asking me whether I needed something. As soon as I finished the Challenger, I called him and asked whether I could come early since Chandigarh’s cold made the wickets wet there. He called me to Vadodara and I started my camp there. I knew there would be more responsibility on me because Pooja [Vastrakar] is not there this time,” Amanjot said.
Friday night’s allround outing was a welcome change for Amanjot after a disappointing last season in the WPL. According to Nagesh, his ward did well to take the opportunity by the scruff of its neck.
“In Mumbai Indians, you don’t get a lot of chances because of the quality of their allrounders. Amanjot got the opportunity and she did well. She’s a complete package and a versatile player, if used well.”
“Blessed, blessed. Many more to come,” Amanjot, crossing her fingers, said after the match. “I want to carry the momentum from tonight and be able to finish matches, be it for MI, for India, or for any team I play for.”
