The Unsung heroes of Indian Cricket

Ashwin Kumar
Jul 22, 2017 · 9 min read

I have been thinking of putting out an article on the topic for a long time, but after their stellar performance against the 6 time world champions (Yes! They have won this 6 times out of 10), and the defending champions Australia to make it into the finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, I just could not hold myself back. So, here goes a deep dive into the Indian Women’s cricket team, and my views on the team as a whole, and the individual players after having watched every game of the Women’s world cup (talking about the games in which India featured).

Recent Performances…

Its only fair that before talking about individual players, we take a look at their performance as a unit. India finished 7th(second last position) in the 2013 edition of the Women’s world cup, so to make it into the finals of the 2017 edition is a fairy tale in itself. Leading up to the world cup, the Indian team had won 22 out of their last 24 games. You could argue that these games did not feature Australia, England or New Zealand (The only three nations to have won a women’s world cup), but having a winning percentage in excess of 90% for a period of 2 years is an impressive feat. These 22 wins included a series win against Sri Lanka and the West Indies, winning a quadrangular series which featured South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Ireland along side India, and a runner up position in the ICC Women’s Championship.

ICC Women’s World Cup…

India started their world cup campaign against the mighty English team at the County Ground in Derby. India having lost the toss and put in to bat, put 281 on the board, their highest ever score against the English team beating their previous best of 243. The Indian bowlers put in a good show to wrap up the game, and here India caused an upset in the first game of the women’s world cup (highly indicative of the things to come). Smriti Mandhana (remember the name!) was the talking point of the match after having scored a 72 ball 90, where she hit one of the fastest bowler in the world (Katherine Brunt) for 16 runs in her first over. Mithali Raj scored a 72 ball 71 (again!) to get India to a winning total, and in the process she became the first women cricketer to get to 7 consecutive fifties.

Then India moved on to the County ground at Taunton, to take on the West Indies. India chose to field first, and restricted the West Indian team to a measly score of 183. Poonam Yadav took 2 wickets for just 19 runs in her 10 overs. But, India’s fielding was the factor that made the difference, the highlight being a direct throw from Smriti Mandhana from backward point to run Stefanie Taylor out. The Indian team would have felt a little uneasy 21/2 in their reply, but the duo of Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj, steadied the ship with a partnership of 108 runs, and India reached their target in the 42nd over. Smriti Mandhana notched up her second ODI hundred in the process.

It was time for the mother of all battles, for India played their third game against Pakistan. India won the toss and chose to bat on a bowling friendly track. Diana Baig caused trouble early on, and the Pakistani left arm spinners and captain Sana Mir, were all over India. India managed 169 in their 50 overs. But, in the second innings Ekta Bisht hit Pakistan like a storm, picking up 4 wickets in her first 7 overs, and due to this effort half of the Pakistani team were back in the pavilion by the 14th over having put only 26 runs on the board. The target seemed far away, and that was to be the case. India won the game by 95 runs, with Ekta Bisht picking up 5/18 in her 10 overs. There were two other highlights from this game, first being the sellout crowd for the game and then the Instagram post from Kainat Imtiaz of Pakistan, which went viral as it should have.

India played their next game against Sri Lanka where having opted to bat, they put on 230 on the board courtesy Deepti Sharma and Mithali Raj, after having lost the openers cheaply. Indian bowlers again came up with a clinical performance to produce 4th consecutive win for India in the world cup.

Lizelle Lee took India by surprise in their next game against South Africa where she score a 65 ball 92, after having put in to bat. India did make a comeback though to restrict South Africa to 270. But the response from India in the second innings was not very impressive with Deepti Sharma top scoring with 60. Mithali Raj got a golden duck (first time in her career spanning 18 years) in the game. India tasted their first defeat in the women’s world cup.

Next, they took on the reigning world champions, Australia. Although Poonam Raut scored a brilliant hundred in the game, along with Mithali Raj’s half century, India’s score of 226 was never enough against the world champions who chased the score down in the 45th, and their captain, Meg Lanning (who is the № 1 batter in the world, and has an average of 55 along with a strike rate of 95 in ODIs, and to provide some context to how good that is Virat Kohli averages 53 with a strike rate of 90) standing tall, taking Australia to the finish line. Mithali was criticized for having a lack of intent in her over cautious innings of 69, which took 119 balls. During her knock of 69, she created history by overtaking Charlotte Edwards of England to become the highest run scorer in ODIs and also the first women to reach 6000 runs in ODIs.

India’s next game against New Zealand was a virtual quarter final, where the winner would advance on to the semi finals, and the loser would catch the next flight home. India having won the toss, chose to bat first on a seamer friendly wicket. The Indian openers were out pretty early with India at 21/2 in the 8th over, and the onus was on the captain (Mithali Raj) and the vice captain (Harmanpreet Kaur) to help the sinking ship towards a shore. And, they did exactly that. They added 132 runs for the third wicket partnership. There was no lack of intent from Mithali Raj this time around. She was in a different zone altogether, and you could see why she was one of the best in the world. She scored 109 off 123 balls in a pressure game, and when the team needed her the most, she delivered. But, you expect this kind of performance from Mithali Raj. Veda Krishnamurthy turned out to be the surprise package of the game, when after the departure of Harmanpreet Kaur, she came in and smashed a 45 ball 70 (Dispatched them to all parts of the ground), which turned the game on its head, and propelled India’s score to 265. New Zealand did not start well when they lost their captain (Suzie Bates) in the first over, and things just plummeted from there on. New Zealand managed a mere 79 in their reply, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (It was her first game of the world cup replacing Ekta Bisht) turned out to be star of the second innings picking up 5/15.

Australia were clear favorites coming in to the semi final, and I myself was doubtful whether India will be able to pull it off. Start of play was delayed due to rain, and when it did start it was reduced to a 42 over match. There was talk about India lacking the necessary firepower to accelerate the innings when required (which I agreed with). India again did not start well, losing Smriti Mandhana in the first over of the match, and Poonam Raut too made her way back to the pavillion, with the score at 35/2 in the 10th over. Mithali and Harmanpreet did try to stitch a partnership together, but Mithali was dismissed with India at 101/3 in the 25th over, and Deepti Sharma came in to join Harmanpreet Kaur. And, then Harmanpreet Kaur exploded and started bashing the white cricket ball to all parts of the ground. The best bowlers in the world were left clueless as to how to stop the hurricane. India scored in excess of 140 runs in their last ten overs, and Harmanpreet Kaur finished at 171 not out, off a 115 balls. She reminded me of what Ricky Ponting did to India in the finals of the 2003 world cup. Her innings consisted of 7 sixes and 20 fours (122 runs in boundaries). Never have I seen a single person having such a big impact on the result in a knockout game of a world tournament (Ricky Ponting’s 140 comes in a close second). The Indian bowlers started brilliantly dismissing the top three batters for 21, which included a 0 from Meg Lanning (World’s best women batter at the moment, according to me). Then Australia put up an extraordinary show to reach a total of 245, with the efforts of Villani scoring 75 off 58 balls, and Blackwell scoring 90 off 56 balls (They scored 245 in 42 overs, after losing their top 3 run scorers in the tournament cheaply) wentdown in vain, and India was through to the finals of the ICC Women’s world cup. The highlight of the second innings was the delivery that got Meg Lanning out (Do check it out).

Players to watch out for (in the finals)…

Mithali Raj

Its pretty much a no brainer, with 18 years in the side (2 years more than the senior most player in the men’s team, which is Yuvraj Singh), and a record with 6200 odd runs at an average of 52, she is the best batter in the team. She is also the top scorer of this edition of the world cup with close to 400 runs in 8 games.

Smirti Mandhana

Although she has had a string of failures after she lit up the world cup with her knocks in the first two games, I think that this 21 year old can win you games inside the powerplay, if she gets going (A quality that Sehwag posessed). She is one of the most natural stroke maker in the current women’s game, and a very good player of the short ball.

Harmanpreet Kaur

After what she did to Australia, England would like to get her out cheaply in the finals. She has the capability to send the cricket ball flying over the ropes, and make it look easy.

Jhulan Goswami

The spear head of the Indian bowling attack, and again a highly experienced player with the most number of wickets in the ODIs. And with her coming into her own in the semi finals against Australia, she can be a threat to the opposition in the finals.

Conclusion…

The one thing which you would notice is that the team has not been dependent on one player to take them through (although I think that some can have more impact on the game). Four of their batters (Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Raut, Mithali Raj, and Harmanpreet Kaur) have scored a century in the tournament. The Indian Bowlers have been in good form throughout this tournament, and we can again expect a good performance from them. Indian fielding has declined in comparison to their first two games. But tomorrow in the finals against England, they have to be at their best if they have to beat them.

They have already reached the finals of the women’s world cup against all expectations, and having watched all games I know that they will try their best to get the cup home. Tomorrow will also be Mithali and Jhulan’s last world cup game, and it would be a fairy tale ending for their careers, to get their hands on the biggest prize of all before hanging their boots. I am proud of the way these girls have performed in the world cup which has (or I hope would) inspired an entire generation of girls to take up the sport. But having said that, I will be in front of my television set cheering for them tomorrow, and even if they end up on the losing side I would not be sad, because in my mind they would take the field tomorrow as winners, having won millions of hearts around the world.

Ashwin Kumar

Written by

Passionate about Computer Science and Cricket. Lifelong learner. Software developer by profession. Learning to make peace with life.

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