INDIAN WOMEN WIN HEARTS

The Women in Blue got off to a flying start in the Women’s T20 World Cup by scoring a convincing victory over arch rivals Pakistan on Sunday night. Despite a lot of hype surrounding the match, Indian eves held their nerve all through the tense clash. Though Pakistan got to their highest-ever score against India, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side clinched a decisive win with their highest successful chase in Women’s T20 World Cup history. What made the victory more memorable was that it came in the absence of India’s star batter, Smriti Mandhana. Young guns Jemima Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh took India to a famous win and helped the team to register the second highest chase in T20 World Cup history.

It was a typical India-Pakistan encounter that ebbed and flowed with lots of dramatic twists and turns. Pak won the toss and chose to bat but were rocked by initial shocks. After stuttering to 68-4 in 10 overs, Pak were in trouble. Thereafter, a terrific captain’s knock by Bismah Maroof and her partnership with the aggressive teenager, Ayesha Naseem, turned the game. All of 18, Naseem is rated highly for her penchant to hit the long ball. She played a knock that gave India the jitters. She threw Renuka Singh off guard with 18 runs off the 16th over and changed the complexion of the Pakistan innings as they reached their highest ever total of 149 in a T20 international.

With prolific opener and Vice-Captain, Smriti Mandhana missing due to injury, it was a tough task for India. Shafali Varma’s aggressive knock though took India to a brisk start. With Shafali and then Harmanpreet falling in the space of a few overs of each other, India needed 55 in the last 6 overs, which was a tricky task.

Then came the matchwinning partnership as wicketkeeper- batter, Richa Ghosh, joined forces with Jemima Rodrigues. The duo steadied the Indian ship. Ghosh began firing almost instantly and Jemima soon joined the fun. Pakistan fielding wilted and there were many misfielding efforts.

In contrast, the Indian girls put up an unbroken 58- run stand in a perfect combo of aggression and elegance. Richa Ghosh, the gum-chewing, big-hitting teenager who won the Under-19 World Cup last month, led the turn around, coolly hitting medium pacer Aiman Anwer for three fours in the 18th over to bring the target down to 14 off 12 balls. At the other end, Rodrigues, who held the batting line-up together, found her range. She pulled, swept and then most fittingly hit the winning runs by carving a boundary through extra cover which also brought up her half-century. The victory has put the Indian campaign to win an elusive ICC tournament on track. India next plays West Indies on February 15, while Pakistan will face Ireland on the same day.

Beyond the victory, the auction for Women’s Premier League (WPL) added to the jubilation in the Indian contingent. Though she missed the vital game with Pakistan, Smriti Mandhana created history by being the first player to be picked for WPL. The Indian Vice Captain netted a whopping 3.4 Crores Rupees from RCB – a testimony to her own skill and the big bucks now available for women cricketers.

In contrast, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur was picked up for a modest 1.8 crores Rupees by Mumbai Indians. Significantly, a number of other members of the team netted higher amounts than Captain Kaur. While allrounder Deepti Sharma got an impressive purse of 2.6 Crores Rupees, the U-19 Captain and powerful stroke-maker Shafali Verma was picked up for 2 Crores. The matchwinning duo in the Pakistan game also netted impressive amounts – while Jemimah got 2.2 Crores, Richa Ghosh also netted 1.9 Crores in the highstakes auction. Among players from outside India, England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt and Aussie all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner fetched the highest price with both netting 3.2 crores.

With their on-field exploits being rewarded with big bucks, the morale in the Indian camp is bound to be skyhigh. If the momentum from their victory over Pakistan can be maintained, Harmanpreet & Co could well seal ultimate glory in the T20 World Cup. With the victory over Pakistan being followed by a massive pay day at the inaugural WPL auction, Indian women’s cricket is clearly moving to an unprecedented high!!

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry