WPL 2023: 'Captaincy does not bring any extra pressure' - Harmanpreet Kaur after MI smashes GG by 143 runs

WPL 2023 got underway on Saturday, as Mumbai Indians decimated Gijarat Giants by 143 runs in the opener. Meanwhile, MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur spoke about her captaincy and asserted that she is never under pressure.

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Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Harmanpreet Kaur stated that the leadership duty brings the best out in her after she lit up the 2023 Women's Premier League (WPL) opener with a massive 65-run knock at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Kaur's attack and 89-run partnership for the fourth wicket alongside Amelia Kerr propelled MI to a mammoth total of 207/5. Its bowlers outwitted Gujarat Giants (GG), skittling it for just 64 to mega a 143-run triumph on Saturday.

After the contest, Kaur told reporters that acclimating fast to the pitch was paramount to her team's conquest. "You never enter a game thinking it will be a one-sided contest. You always come in with the mindset that you cannot take the opposition lightly. What our bowling department did today was something worth appreciating," she said.

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"I think we got a good start, and when that happens, you can continue with it. Almost all deliveries were spot on. When we were batting, we figured out which areas to bowl. Our bowlers adapted quickly, and [that is why] it looked like a one-sided game," Kaur added.

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"I have been captaining teams since playing cricket. It does not bring any extra pressure on me but makes me feel more involved. I get into a zone which helps me bring out good performances. I think a lot; my mind is continuously [in the process of] thinking, giving thoughts and ideas to me," she continued.

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"I think when I am calmer, and at the moment, it gives me a lot of clarity [as to] what I have to do. It is not easy for me to be in that zone is not easy for me, but I have to keep talking to myself. I do not need to overthink, stay in the present and keep backing myself," Kaur further noted.

She also spoke on her half-century, which included 14 boundaries. "In that zone, I am clearer about which areas to pick. Things get easier for me in this zone, and today, I think it was one of those days when I was more relaxed because the team is so brilliant, and everyone is so positive. We are all backing each other," she concluded.

(With inputs from PTI)