Indian eves in final of World Cup after 12 years
Derby: They are not mobbed when they walk down the streets in India, corporate houses do not fight for ad spots when their matches are shown live on TV, they are the perennial ‘second class’ citizens of Indian cricket.
However, for a brief while, courtesy a hurricane knock by Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian women’s cricket team brought the entire nation in front of the TV sets Thursday night. There can and will be many adjectives to describe Kaur’s knock… none will be sufficient though. But there was no ‘Preet’ on Harman’s willow, as she simply blew away the Aussies while scoring an unbeaten 171 (115b, 20×4, 7×6) in the semifinals of the ICC Women’s World Cup here. Riding on her knock, India scored 281 for four in 42 overs and then restricted the defending champions to 245 all out to emerge victors by 37 runs.
A match that had no TV viewership till Kaur started her assault on the Australian bowlers suddenly sprang to life with WhatsApp groups becoming active all across India. Social media went gaga about the power and placement of Kaur’s shots as she repeatedly found the gaps against the hapless Aussie bowlers. And when she did not hit it in the gaps, the ball sailed over the ropes.
Kaur’s knock became the fifth highest individual ODI score in women’s ODIs. But then as is the wont she will barely be a recognisable face still. In the last group match against New Zealand, skipper Mithali Raj had scored a century but her men’s team counterpart while congratulating her had put up the picture of Punam Raut on his FB page. If something of the same nature happens with Kaur, then the world should not be surprised.
Kaur was involved in three crucial stands. The first of 65 runs for the third wicket with skipper Raj (36, 61b, 2×4), the second of 137 runs for the fourth wicket with Deepti Sharma (25, 35b, 1×4) and then another of 43 runs in just 26 balls for the fifth wicket with Veda Krishnamurthy (16 n o, 10b, 2×4). Each and every one of these partnerships put Australia on the mat and brightened India’s chances.
“I was not getting the chance to bat the way I like to,” Kaur stated during the break. “Today, I decided to be aggressive and everything fell into place. I was feeling it (the ball) well on my bat from the start of the innings. I am glad that this innings came in the semifinals against Australia. They are the World Champions, so naturally the knock was all the more satisfying.” Thanks to her, Australia were no more the World Champions when the match ended.
Kaur was simply magnificent down the ‘V’ as well as square off the wicket. She was particularly severe on spinner Eva Gardner who went for 23 runs in her eighth over, with Kaur getting 22 of them in the sequence of 6,6,4,4,2. Then when Elyse Villani came on to bowl, Kaur promptly hit her for two sixes over the mid-wicket fence to welcome her to the bowling crease.
Chasing a target of 282, Australia were never in the chase as Jhulan Goswami (2/35) and Shikha Pandey (2/17) dismantled the top- order. Pandey bowled a beauty disturb Beth Mooney’s castle and then Goswami bowled that perfect delivery which straightened off the seam to hit the off-stump of Aussie skipper Meg Lanning. It was the final nail on the Aussie coffin.
For a brief while Villani (75, 58b, 13×4) threatened. She used her feet well against the spinners to hit them over the top. With Ellyse Perry (38, 56b, 3×4) supporting her well, the two added 105 runs for the fourth wicket. However, she tried to hit Rajeshwari Gayakwad out of the park, got too close to the ball to garner the necessary elevation and holed out to Smriti Mandhana at mid-on. Australia’s dream was as good as over.
All-rounder Alex Blackwell (90, 56b, 10×4, 3×6) made a valiant effort in the end, but she was always fighting a losing cause. Blackwell put on 76 runs for the last wicket with Kristen Beams, but in the end Aussies fell short by 36 runs. Blackwell was bowled by Sharma (3/59) with the first ball of the 41st over as the batswoman attempted to pull.
This was the Indian eves’ ninth victory over the Aussies in 43 encounters and probably the most crucial one as it put them in the summit clash.
India will now face England in the final Sunday at Lord’s. Let’s just hope that the nation for once, pray for the women, the way they do even when the men play Bangladesh in a World Cup match. The eves last played a final in 2005 and lost to Aussies. This time, they have beaten England in the group opener, the nation can expect an encore. It surely can happen.