Jhulan stamps her class returning to biggest stage
MOMENTS OF THE INNINGS
has been a picture of consistency for India for over a decade, and the 34-year-old Bengal pacer has made up for her drop in pace with accuracy and subtle variations. She got all that together to dismiss Sarah Taylor (45) and Natalie Sciver (51) and Fran Wilson, trapped first ball.
Jhulan’s figures of 10-3-23-3 was a culmination of her gradually stepping it up in the tournament. The tall pacer with an easy action was brilliant in the shock semifinal win over Australia, bowling skipper Meg Lanning for duck with perhaps the delivery of the tournament.
The seasoned bowler didn’t need much motivation going into the final. Jhulan and skipper Mithali Raj were both in the team that played the final of the 2005 edition, losing to Australia.
Ahead of the final, Mithali had picked all-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur and Jhulan Goswami for their roles in the upset over the Aussies. “Well, she has definitely worked on her bowling. From the first game to the Sri Lanka game and New Zealand game, she was getting better in the nets. It was a matter of time. You get a couple of good spells and you get the confidence.”
That was very much the case for the bowler who claimed the record for most ODI wickets in May. Jhulan has 195 wickets.
Jhulan has been the constant for India for a decade. In 2006, she played a prominent role with bat and ball, taking 10/78 in the second Test, to help India win the series in England and claim the Player-of-the-Series award.
Her was named the ICC Player of the Year in 2007.
On Sunday, with England seeking a hattrick of wins at home as hosts, Jhulan had tilted the scales in India’s favour at the halfway mark.