An emphatic win, a mistimed comment and a deflating loss.
That is how India have fared in the ICC Women’s World Cup so far.
Mithali Raj and Co did exceptionally well against a fairly good West
Indies side before slumping to a 32-run loss against the defending
champions.
As things stand in Group A, every team has one win and one loss —
something that makes the game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday a must-win
for the Indian eves. Technically, if England beat West Indies and India
lose to Sri Lanka, things will go down to net run-rate — but nothing can
be left to chance.
The tournament’s format means that only one team is eliminated from
the group, and the hosts certainly don’t want to be part of that.
History backs the Indians, who have won 16 of their 17 matches against
Sri Lanka.
While many consider the Lankans to be easy opposition, and lucky in
their earlier win against England, skipper Mithali is taking nothing for
granted: “We’re not undermining any team. This next match is do-or-die
for us,” quipped the 30-year-old after the loss to England.
Here’s an over comparison: after 30 overs, England were 115-2, scoring at a run-rate of 3.60. But England took the run-rate to 7.85 in the next 20 overs, eventually finishing at 272-8. That should be an indicator of how India’s game dipped in the last session.
“We gave away too many runs in the last 15-20 overs and have to take care of that. We also need to minimise the boundaries,” said Mithali.
But she will continue to chase if the conditions are the same: “If the conditions are the same on Tuesday, then we’ll choose to field first again. You’ll understand why if you saw the way Jhulan Goswami and Amita Sharma bowled early on.”
Team selection should not really be a dilemma for India. In the first game, the batters clicked and in the second, the bowlers. But the skipper — considered as India’s best batter — has her own form to look into.
She played a couple of lovely drives through the off-side before being dismissed by Katherine Brunt, and played down her importance in the team: “I wouldn’t say my wicket is the most important. The whole team has to contribute,” she said after the game against England.
The good part is that India have two players who have already scored centuries in the tournament. Vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur followed the footsteps of Thirush Kamini, who became the first Indian woman cricketer to score a ton — reaching the milestone in the opener against West Indies.
Kaur, a young star of the team, remains unfazed by the pressure: “I have always played without any fear or pressure and will continue to do that.”
It was safe to call Sri Lanka the weakest team in Group A — until they won against England to make the group really interesting. And a lot also depends on how the hard-hitting West Indians cope against the might of England on the same day.
Earlier in the tournament, SL skipper Shashikala Siriwardene acknowledged the fact that India is a ‘giant’ team, but will certainly go all-out for a win: “The net run rate will be a problem that’s why we have no option but to go and win the match against India,” she said.
Siriwardene’s team had an excellent opener, but it was more about belief than brilliance on the pitch.
But as is seen so often, belief is enough to win in sport. Indian fans will hope that their contingent has as much as the Lankans.
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