Brett Lee
Brett Lee (Photo Credit: Twitter)

Not only did the Indian women’s outfit suffered a chastening defeat, but also one of the heaviest ones on Sunday against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Several former and present cricketers have sent their heartfelt condolences to the side who burst into tears following the loss. Brett Lee was mainly disheartened — to see teen sensation Shafali Verma breaking down after her poor show at the T20 World Cup 2020 final. For the same, he backed her and the entire team to comeback strongly.

Also Read: Vivian Richards’ Words Of Encouragement For Team India After T20 Final Loss

Before the final in which she scored only two, Shafali got them off to breezy starts in almost all the matches. Her aggregate of 163 runs in five games with a strike rate of 158.25 already spelt a bright future for her.

However, her early exit put the visitors under pressure before which they capitulated to 99 in reply to Australia’s 183.

To add to that, Shafali also dropped Alyssa Healy’s catch earlier in the Australian innings, who later smashed 75 off 39 deliveries, to set things in motion.

It Was Tough Seeing Her In Tears: Brett Lee On Crestfallen Shafali Verma
Shafali Verma. (Credits: Twitter)

The retired speedster felt profusely sad to witness the 16-year old weeping but hailed her for how she performed in the grandest stage.

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Lee also said that such experiences would be significant in developing her as one of the best players and that she has the potential to play well against Australia moving forward.

“I really felt for Shafali Verma at the end, it was tough seeing her in tears but she should be very proud of the way she’s performed in Australia. To come out here and face your first tournament head-on is testament to her talent and mental strength, and she’s only going to get better from here,” Lee said as quoted by Times of India.

 

She’ll learn from this experience and come back stronger. Moments like this can define you in a positive way…Don’t be surprised to see her put a big score on the Aussies the next time they play,”  Lee added.

Brett Lee feels it’s not the end for the Indian women’s team:

India Women's Team
India Women’s Team. (Photo: Twitter)

The New South Wales pacer continued lavishing praises on Harmanpreet Kaur’s party, who made it to the finals for the first time, by saying that it is only a start and have a long way to go from here.

Lee labels their experience in Melbourne a crucial one along with being a lesson on how to play in the grandest stage in front of a massive crowd like the MCG had.

“It was a disappointing night for them but they’ll certainly be back – this is not the end for them, this is just the start. They’d never played in a Final before and we saw in Melbourne how vital that experience is, it takes a long time to get settled and by the time they did, unfortunately the game was gone,” Lee further stated.

 

Playing in front of a crowd like that takes plenty of getting used to so they’ll be better for it, and should take a lot of heart from the way they played in Australia.” he concluded.

Also Read: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020: Team Of The Tournament

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