The final of the 2022 Commonwealth Games wasn't the first time when India wasn't able to come up trump against Australia in a close contest.
Something similar was on display in the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup when Alyssa Healy played a spectacular knock.
"The effort we put up today is something we wanted to do. I know the last 2-3 overs [in the chase] were not in our favour but throughout the game, the way we played was outstanding to watch. We've been working on our fielding for a long time. I'm happy with the way we fielded today. That is something we wanted to do as a team."
"I know we could've easily won gold, but something is better than nothing, at least we got silver. We deserved it for so much hard work. If not gold, we're satisfied with what we got today. As a team we are on the right track, we just need to keep working hard. As Lanning said, we're not far from dominating across formats. We are improving as a team and time is not far when we will start winning back-to-back," Harmanpreet said.
Although India lost the final of the 2017 ODI World Cup against England at Lord's from a winning situation as well, the most that India have struggled in reaching the finish line has been against Australia.
Granted that the Australian women's cricket team is not only the best team of its generation but is the best team to take the field in women's cricket ever, and it is not easy to beat them.
That said, India must work to keep control of their nerves, particularly when they are close to the finish line, because winning hearts is one thing, and winning matches is another.
