Smriti Mandhana's Emotional Turmoil During 2024 World Cup Campaign
Indian cricket sensation Smriti Mandhana has candidly revealed the profound disappointment and stress she experienced during the 2024 ICC Women's World Cup, particularly following a heartbreaking loss to England that threatened India's tournament progression.
The Crushing England Defeat That Triggered Emotional Breakdown
During India's 2024 World Cup campaign, the team found themselves in a challenging position midway through the tournament, suffering three consecutive losses. The most devastating of these came against England, where India appeared poised for a comfortable victory but ultimately collapsed to lose by just four runs.
Mandhana, who had scored 88 crucial runs in that match, found herself at the center of the collapse. "The England game, I was the most disappointed with myself," she confessed on the RCB Podcast. "I thought why did I play that shot. The next day we had a flight and in the whole flight I was just disappointed. That was the only time I could not speak to anyone."
World Cup Pressure and Personal Struggles
The star batter entered the World Cup with excellent form but struggled in the initial matches. "I came into the World Cup with amazing form. The first three matches did not go as planned," Mandhana revealed. "In one-day cricket, I pride myself not to get out in those first ten overs. I remember we lost to South Africa and I had that conversation with myself about what I did wrong."
She described her mental state during those difficult matches: "I was batting well in the nets. I don't know if it was pressure or I was not making the right choices on that particular day. I did not find myself feeling good in those first three matches."
The Weight of National Expectations
Mandhana disclosed the immense pressure she felt, particularly worrying about the consequences of not qualifying in a home World Cup. "I was stressing a lot. It was the most pressure I had felt," she admitted. "I told myself not qualifying in a home World Cup will do really bad to women's cricket in India and will take us 20 years back. I was stressing the whole night before the New Zealand game."
The cricketer expressed how this pressure affected her: "It was eating me up that we cannot not qualify for the semi-finals of a home World Cup. There are some reserved trolls for women who keep coming back. But for us as a team, we prepped so well. What people talk changes overnight."
Triumph Over Adversity
Despite the emotional turmoil, Mandhana channeled her disappointment into a remarkable performance against New Zealand, scoring a blistering 109 runs from just 95 balls. "Considering the importance of the match and all the noise, it was special," she reflected on her century.
The Indian team demonstrated remarkable resilience during this challenging period. "As a team, we were just helping each other," Mandhana emphasized, highlighting the collective support that helped them navigate through the tournament's most difficult moments.
Mandhana's revelations provide a rare glimpse into the psychological challenges elite athletes face during high-stakes international tournaments, particularly when representing a cricket-crazy nation like India where expectations run extraordinarily high.
