Its been >12 hours since we lost the final and I have
calmed down considerably so now is the time to reflect on the tournament &
the final. The Women in Blue did a fantastic job getting to the finals and
almost winning the cup so kudos to that. 191-3 with 38 to win from 43 was
eminently winnable but we did not. Its easy to use words like chokers but we
are NOT that. Given our last league game was a must-win and we were up against
New Zealand who had played brilliantly till then (not to mention our appalling record
against them), for us to have won so handsomely meant the girls had guts of
steel....and then that semifinal performance against Australia. Wow. Just
Wowww.
Coming to yday's game, after restricting England to 228,
despite the pressure of chasing in a cup final, I am sure India was everyone's favorite
to win the match at HT. So why did we lose it? For a captain as experienced as
Mithali who's taken brave calls like dropping Ekta Bisht our match-winner
against Pakistan (yes, they aren’t really our match in women's cricket but
still...) for Gayakwad in subsequent matches, it was shocking to see Smriti
Mandhana retain her place. Its all fine walloping 90 and 106 against the
minnows but her subsequent scores of 2, 8, 4, 3, 13, 6 clearly showed someone who
was lacking confidence and possibly technique as well. Even if axing her was
extreme, we should have dropped her down the order as the last thing you want
chasing in a world cup final is to lose a wicket very early on which is exactly
what happened. Promoting Sushma Verma
was also a calculated gamble that misfired badly as it ended up creating
complete panic. Then when the time to stand up and be counted arrived, a vastly experienced person like Jhulan
Goswami just failed to deliver. It is also time we ensured our tail-enders also
practiced some batting and common sense running between the wickets.
Ultimately, I put it all down to lack of experience and if we can learn the lessons from this loss and become stronger for it, all the heartbreak is worth it.
I don’t want this to seem like a rant or taking potshots
when someone is down - as my better half can testify, I actually follow Indian
women's cricket and adore this team. I genuinely believe we only fulfilled our potential this time
and have greater things coming for us. For starters, politicians/sports bodies/celebrities should stop announcing
these one-time rewards & praising/commending the team and then forget about them in a month or so. What
is needed is solid, steady sponsorship from corporates so that we continue to
unearth talent who can get a livelihood if they choose to pursue this game. We
also need backing from the Board to ensure this young team gets more exposure
and experience which means we need to have a proper annual itinerary which
includes overseas tours. Lastly, we need a stronger support staff outfit.
Tushar Arothe has done a commendable job with this team and has been a great
servant for Indian/Baroda cricket but I can only imagine how different things
could have been y'day if Anil Kumble / Rahul Dravid was in the dugout in some
capacity. If Kohli & gang don’t want competent people, I am sure the girls
and the U-21/U-15 would love to work with the likes of Dravid and Kumble.
Congrats again to Mithali and team - enjoy the
love/adulation but do not rest on your laurels, there are greater mountains to
climb and I have no doubts you will do it.
