Composure, key advice from Jemimah: How Mohali’s Amanjot struck India’s winning shot

Scoring the winning runs on a big stage, a dream of many cricketers, became a reality for Mohali girl Amanjot Kaur when she struck a boundary to complete the highest-ever run chase at the ICC World Cup history.

Playing at DY Patil Stadium, India hunted down Australia and their 339-target. Amanjot not only scored the last runs, but also claimed a wicket in the memorable clash. An important part of the Indian squad, the daughter of a proud carpenter, had also opened for the Indian side in their previous match against Bangladesh.

“I asked Jemimah [Rodrigues] if I may charge (down the crease). She was a bit confused...she replied, ‘Yaar, their bowlers are good. Let’s take it deep’. We decided to pick one bowler and go after her. That was our plan,” said an elated Amanajot, who scored an 8-ball 15 with two boundaries. She joined the Player of the Match, Jemimah, with half the Indian battling lineup down at 310/5 in the 46th over.

Overcomes ghosts of the past

The winning pair’s plan worked to perfection as India timed their chase beautifully. The league game against England still weighed heavy on Amanjot’s mind. “I had a chance to finish it against England but couldn’t. In the earlier match (against Australia), I hadn’t faced many balls at all. So this time, I didn’t want to leave anything unfinished. I was determined to stay till the end.”

Speaking about the pressure of anchoring an unbelievable chase, she added, “At that moment, Jemimah was already there for a long time, so I asked some inputs about the wicket. After Richa (Ghosh) was dismissed, the game could’ve gone either way. The momentum could have shifted, but we didn’t want that to happen. I remember the match against England, we ended up aiming 12 runs from one over, and it was tough. So this time, we stayed calm, waited for the right over,” explained the all rounder who also fought the humid conditions, made especially difficult after a spell of rain.

“It was hot. We were all running hard, especially from deep to deep, and everyone was exhausted. During batting, the Australians must have felt the same,” she added. The co-hosts of the tournament now have a two-day break, and also have an advantage of playing their last leg of the tournament at the same venue, avoiding travelling blues. “It makes a huge difference when you avoid travel days. In the last 15 days, we’ve saved three travel days, which means more rest and recovery,” she added.

Amanjot, who had studied at a local college, plays for the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). A resident of Mohali, she had captained the Chandigarh senior women’s team for three consecutive years, before moving to the PCA.

Trained under local cricket coach Nagesh Gupta, the young all-rounder had taken a break before entering fresh in the World Cup phase. Her grandfather, Ishar Singh, and parents Bhupinder Singh and Ranjit Kaur had shared their elation that Amanjot’s inclusion in the squad.

The all-rounder, who was picked by Mumbai Indians for Rs 50 lakh in 2023 for the Women’s Premier League, caught her current coach’s eye for her swing. She made her debut in domestic cricket for Punjab in 2017-18 and switched to Chandigarh from 2019 to 2022 before moving back to Punjab. She had bagged the Player-of-the-Match award on her T20I debut.