The Indian women have made everyone in the country proud with their superlative performance on the tour of England. They have won the ODI series with a game to spare which is quite admirable. This coming on the back of a good Commonwealth Games where they won the silver medal. If only they had applied a bit better or if they had not felt nervous, they could have won the gold easily. Nonetheless, it was an excellent performance. For quite sometime now, the Indian women are punching above their weight. I mean no disrespect but in a country where education is given lot of importance, it is tough for a male child to pursue a career in sports. On that scale, it is even tougher for a woman child to become a professional sportswoman. Indian women are on the rise.
The batting in the 2nd ODI was simply brilliant. The captain Harmanpreet Kaur led from the front. She absolutely waded into the English bowling attack and tormented them with a flurry of cuts, pulls and slices over the off side. The English bowlers did not know where to bowl to her. Such was her masterclass.
“I just wanted to spend some time on the wicket because today’s wicket was not easy to bat on in the first innings,” she said after the match. “I wanted to keep watching the ball and play accordingly.” She continued, “I didn’t try too many shots [early on]. It is important to read the wicket and be there. Being there is more important because I know if I take more balls initially I can easily cover up in the end.” said Harmanpreet
The future of batting is quite safe
Without her belligerent hundred, India would have struggled to post a competitive score. Instead, she put the game beyond the reach of England. 333 for 5 is something unheard of from an Indian women team against a much fancied England. This was the 2nd total of over 300 in 2022 with the first one coming against West Indies. Smriti Mandhana is another batter who is quite flamboyant. Not to mention Shefali Verma who everyone agrees has an incredible future in the game. Her skills is right on par with the best in the business. She is not afraid to take chances early on and believes in the Sehwag school of batting. Harmanpreet, Smrith & Shefali are the fulcrum of the Indian batting around whom the team will evolve.
India, today is among the top 3 in the world and they deserve to be there after a string of impressive performances. Remember, last year, they stopped the Australian juggernaut by winning the final ODI. The team has both youth and experience in it. Shefali Verma is 18 years old and Jhulan Goswami, for whom the Lord’s ODI will be the last one in her career, approaching 40. Recently, perhaps the greatest Indian woman batter, Mithali Raj, bid adieu to the game but she has really built a team that has gone on from strength to strength.
Nerves the reason for not winning a world title
It really is a shame that the team is yet to win a world title. The came close twice. Once during the 2018 World Cup and next during the Commonwealth Games. In both the finals, they faltered at the final hurdle because of nerves. The Indian team is not mentally strong. When the team close enough to win both the tournaments, they failed to believe in themselves. Probably they were overwhelmed by how close they were to a major milestone. Instead of However, they will be wise for the experience.
The best chance for the squad to set the record straight will be at the Asia Cup that starts in a couple of weeks from now.
A wonderful career comes to an end
Now, the Lord’s game will be an emotional game for all the players. It will be even more emotional for a few like the captain herself. Jhulan Goswami, who has been a valiant warrior for several years, will follow in the footsteps of Mithali Raj and will bow out of the game forever. She is the greatest Indian bowler and one of the greatest to have played the game in the world. Her performances speaks for itself. She would like to leave the game on a high. It really is unfortunate that such a glittering career is not marked by a beautiful trophy. The agony of the 2017 World Cup will be with her forever but that in no way diminishes who she had been and her exploits. Espncricinfo has paid her lovely compliment.
“The Lord’s game is very special for us because it’s Jhulan’s retirement and we wanted to enjoy that game without any pressure and I’m really happy that we were able to win today and now we can just have fun in that game,” Harmanpreet said. “It’s very important because that will be her last game. It will be a very emotional moment for all of us and we definitely want to win that game,” she added
Wrapping up Indian women are on the rise
I cannot help but compare the women to their male counterpart. Given the limitations, it is admirable what they have achieved but the same cannot be said about the men. If an IPL for women does go ahead, it is likely to bring in riches that the women were never accustomed to. It may revolutionise the game in the country and that is likely to bring in lot more talents. The day is not far off when the women will be able to lift that World Cup.
Other blogs about Indian women cricket team can be read here, here and here.
