Derby: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. The Indian eves will not only have to play tough cricket, but very tough cricket if they are to overcome the odds heavily stacked against them when they face Australia in the semifinals of the ICC Women’s World Cup at the County Ground here Wednesday.
History and current form are stacked against India. They have lost 34 of the 42 ODI games they have played against Aussies and were also thrashed by eight wickets when the two sides met in the group encounter. The backdrop leading to the game couldn’t have been more menacing for the Women in Blue.
But then they say that ‘dreams die hard’ and both skipper Mithali Raj and senior pacer Jhulan Goswami will try and turn their dreams of winning the World Cup into a reality when they take the field Thursday. For both this is the last chance to achieve World Cup glory because when the next edition comes around, both may well have retired from the game. The last time the two played the final was in 2005 – the only occasion when India have been in the summit clash. However, then again they had the Aussies standing in the way to dash their title aspirations.
The only slight advantage India have going into the game is that they are playing on ‘home’ soil. The Indian eves have played four games here while the Aussies will be stepping on to the County Ground greens for the first time. The Indians will be acclimitised to the surrounding conditions, but then as said earlier it is just a wee bit of advantage.
Australia in the group encounter against India showed the balance and depth they have as they chased down a target of 227 with 29 balls to spare. Skipper Meg Lanning and all-rounder Ellyse Perry have been in fantastic form with the bat, the latter also picked up two wickets against India. Fast bowlers Megan Schutt and Ashleigh Gardner have picked up early wickets in most matches to put the opposition under pressure. However, their fielding skills have made Australia stand apart in this event. They have saved 15-20 runs in every game and in an ODI it is indeed a creditable job.
In contrast, India’s batting has not really fired on a consistent basis. Smriti Mandhana after a great start has failed to accumulate 50 runs in her last five innings. Mithali’s form against New Zealand will certainly be a huge boost for India, but then the Aussie bowling attack is far more potent than the Kiwis.
The Indian spinners have bowled well in this tournament, but against Australia it will have to be an all-round display. Goswami, who has so far taken 190 wickets in ODIs, has struggled for consistency and her side will definitely look up to her in the crucial game. But above all, the Indians need to improve on their fielding and even take the half chances that come their way as catches win matches.
However, the semifinal of any tournament is a different ball game altogether, it makes or breaks careers. There can be well an Indian eve who will rise like a phoenix to light up a billion hopes. The women need that to happen if they are to challenge the supremacy of their men counterparts.
Mithali cautions India
Having played four league matches at the County Ground here, India skipper Mithali Raj Wednesday banked on the home advantage to tame World Champions Australia in the second semifinal here Thursday.
Despite the advantage, Mithali also warned her side to play according to the situation in the crunch game. “We’ve played a lot in the group stage here, four games, so we are aware of the conditions and that is our advantage,” Mithali said in the pre-match press conference.
“How the players play the situation is important because having said that Derby is our home ground, you need to perform on that day to win.
“Australia are a very good side. They won the last edition of this tournament and they have a lot of players who have played in high pressure games,” the 34-year-old added.
Making her final World Cup appearance, Mithali — the highest run-getter in women’s One-day Internationals (ODI) — felt it would be exceptional if the young Indian side can outshine the opponents.
Going by statistics, India managed to win just one ODI out of four against the Southern Stars since the last edition of the World Cup in 2013, with the eight-wicket loss in the league stages of the ongoing edition being the latest.
“But for this Indian team, it is going to be a big game and if we can pull out one win, it will be exceptional by the team,” she said.
Meanwhile, Australia opener Nicole Bolton also cautioned her side against any sort of complacency when they face the Indians.
“India have played a couple of matches at Derby as well so they’ll be pretty familiar with the conditions as well. We can’t afford to be off our game,” said Bolton.