England: Indian cricket’s lucky charm
Victory in an ICC event hosted in England is always special as the country is considered the home of cricket. India have savoured many special moments in England and women need to just look back to derive inspiration ahead of Sunday’s final.
England has provided moments of glory for the women. Out of their three overseas Test series wins, two have come in England --- in 2006 and 2014. The other came in South Africa.
England was also the place where it all started to fall in place for India women. In the 1993 World Cup, the team lost by three runs to England at Finchampstead. According to Srirupa Bose, who played for India back then and acted as manager in later years, the loss changed the dynamics of the team.
Speaking to HT, Bose said, “The performance in that match made the world take us seriously and we started to be considered formidable opponents. We were invited to play the Centenary series in New Zealand in 1995. It also featured Australia and we won the tournament!”
Bose added that the fans support in England makes players feel at home. “I had gone to see two matches in this tournament and I saw plenty of Indian fans supporting the team. There were many people with Indian flags cheering the team,” Bose added.
She also said that the current success mirrors the resurgence of women athletes in the country. “Sports is on the upswing in India, especially for women. The performance by this team will encourage girls and women to take up cricket.”
When asked about India’s prospects in the final, Bose said the team has nothing to fear.
“Their morale is high following the big wins over Australia and New Zealand. Mithali Raj will be the key along with Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey. Mithali is the glue that is holding the team together,” she said. Before 1983, the Indian team’s performance at the big stage was underwhelming even though the team consisted of star players like Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath etc. However, Kapil Dev’s side changed the cricketing landscape of India with that World Cup triumph. The sport overtook others like hockey. A win on Sunday has the potential to bring about a similar revolution in women’s cricket in India. I would rate India’s achievement and performance in 2005 higher than the one in 2017. In 2005, the BCCI had not yet taken over women’s cricket. We prepared and The key factor is that everyone is chipping in and responding well to situations. Mithali Raj is the eternal crusader. Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy are all contributing at vital times. Our bowling has always stood the test of time. It revolves around 2-3 players and we have magnificent spinners. Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad are trump cards. Sushma Verma has been keeping well.
I had gone to see two matches and I saw plenty of Indian fans supporting the team. There were people with Indian flags cheering the team. Sports is on the upswing in India, especially for women. The performance by this team will encourage girls and women to take up cricket.
A win for India will revolutionise the game but a loss won’t undermine their achievement. BCCI must promote inter-university games among women cricketers as most of the talent comes from there. They have to sustain this success and ensure it is does not become a one-off instance.