A wounded lion takes a step back to leap further: Amanjot on her match-winning comeback

Guwahati | Injuries, setbacks and months of rehab have only sharpened all-rounder Amanjot Kaur's hunger and the 25-year-old believes that, like a wounded lion that steps back before pouncing again, her long injury layoff was just a pause before a bigger leap.

Batting at No 8, Amanjot's counterattacking partnership with Deepti Sharma rescued India from 124/6 under overcast skies and powered them to a 59-run win over Sri Lanka via the DLS method in a rain-curtailed 47-overs-a-side affair.

"Jaise kehte hain ghayal sher ek kadam pichhe leta hai lambi chhalang marne ke liye (as they say, a wounded lion takes a step back only to leap further), it seems you people will make me famous for my lines,” she quipped after her match-winning knock against Sri Lanka in the Women's World Cup opener here on Tuesday.

Having debuted in 2023, Amanjot's rare ability to bowl pace with effect and score freely lower down the order, made her a dependable allrounder. But a stress fracture and ligament tear ruled her out for eight months, denying her a shot at the last T20I World Cup.

The daughter of a Mohali carpenter and a woodwork contractor, she used the time away to reset perspectives and returned at the Women’s ODI Challenger earlier this year, impressed in the WPL for Mumbai Indians, and later starred in England with a match-winning 63 not as India won a historic series.

But she then she skipped the Australia series ahead of the World Cup, prompting speculation of injury yet again.

Amanjot however set the record straight during the media interaction.

"Itna acha nahin lag raha tha (it wasn't feeling very good). So I told sir (Amol Muzumdar) that if you're looking at me for the World Cup, my body needs rest so that I play the World Cup fresh and not with a tired body.

"Mere khelne ka fayda tabhi hai jab (my playing makes sense only if) I stop some runs in fielding, score runs, and take wickets and shine as an all-rounder, otherwise anyone else can take my spot."

"I felt my body needed rest, there was no injury as such. I felt that I should return fresh for the World Cup.

She further conceded that the eight-month layoff earlier taught her more about herself than six years of playing ever did.

For her, injuries were not "bad luck" but blessings in disguise.

"There is no bad luck. You can take injury as a setback. But what I learnt in those eight months, I didn't learn in my entire six-year career.

"What I learnt about myself in those eight months, utna mujhe pehle nahin pata tha (I didn’t know that much about myself earlier).

"Tomorrow if I don’t score runs, you would say how come the ‘good luck’ is over. Cricket is like that. You must have faith in God, He will take care of you, and whatever He gives you will be the best for you and the team."

Favourites for the elusive crown after two heartbreaks in finals, India were handed an early test but Amanjot remained unfazed.

And, in her trademark style, she brushed aside concerns about India being "in trouble," having lost six wickets in seven overs to be 124/6.

"You can't say India were in trouble, I was yet to bat," she said on a lighter note.

"Itni jaldi result pe nahin aate (you don’t jump to results so early), 50-over is a long game. It may happen that 10 overs go in favour of your opponent and the next 10 overs you do well. We are taking it game by game. Day one went well, hopefully the next eight days (seven games) also go good."

India next face arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium, a fixture already underlined by political undertones.

The men’s Asia Cup final in Dubai had seen its share of drama, from India's refusal to take the trophy from ACC and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi to not shaking hands with the arch-rivals. The spotlight now turns to the women.