Indian women snatch defeat from jaws of victory, gift World Cup to England
Indian women stumbled at the doorsteps of history, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in what can easily be billed as an edge-of-the-seat match at Lord’s, gifting the World Cup to England on Sunday.
Just when the sell-out crowd at Lord’s on a sunny afternoon thought that there was stopping the Indian women, disaster struck and India lost 6 wickets for 28 runs --- from 191/3 to falling eight runs short of the target 228. The Indians simply could not take the pressure of scripting history.
But spare a thought for MithalI Raj and Jhulan Goswami. This was their last World Cup game, but there's no crowning glory. Such is sport, but what the Indian team has achieved has been tremendous. This will be a big, big boost to young players coming through, motivate them to greater heights. Let this sink in: India beat England, Australia, New Zealand — three big teams en route to the final. Now’s the time for them to build from here. Credit to the support staff as well. They can walk away with their heads held high.
Anya Shrubsole was the star of the English side, taking six wickets to ruin the visitors’ hopes of winning the trophy for the first time.
Initially, of course, England’s dreams of victory looked to be slipping away when Poonam Raut was batting brilliantly as India chased 229 to win. But when the 27-year-old opener fell lbw to Shrubsole for 86 the wheels came off the innings.
Wickets fell regularly as the pressure grew and when India needed 11 to win from the final 12 balls the match was wide open.
Shrubsole had Deepti Sharma caught by Natalie Sciver off the first ball of the penultimate over and then bowled Rajeshwari Gayakwad to give England a famous win. Full coverage on
For the uninitiated, a noted sports goods supplier in Kolkata had recently introduced 'Bengal Tigress' - a red ball - as a mark of respect to Jhulan Goswami for her immense contribution to Indian cricket.
As she gallopped through the lush green hallowed turf of the Lord's cricket ground, the coinage seemed to be apt. She was a tigress on the prowl trying to hunt down the English batswomen with her testing line and length deliveries.
For a battle-hardened veteran, figures of 3 for 23 in 10 overs in a World Cup final is as good as it gets but then the 'Mecca of Cricket' has always been a happy hunting ground for Bengal cricketers.
It was in summer of 1996 that the 'Royal Bengal Tiger' Sourav Ganguly announced his arrival with a big roar. His 131 at Lord's was one of the most elegant Test hundreds by a debutant on foreign soil. Bengal cricket's renessaince happened at the Lord's.
However, the ever-lasting memory for the sports loving Bengalis is certainly Ganguly's famous shirt waving at the Lord's balcony after the victory in the Natwest Trophy final in 2002.
After 15 years, it was the turn of Jhulan, who chose the grandest stage and the biggest occasion to showcase why she is India's finest ever medium pacer. Economy rate has never been an issue with Jhulan but over the past few years, the wickets had dried up with a dip in pace also contributing to her woes.
But like Ganguly used to be the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes, Jhulan has been no different showing why she is a big occasion player -- testimony being the semi-final as well as the final.
"What an incredible spell by Jhulan! Proud of your effort! Plenty of cricket to be played. Keep pushing hard.." tweeted Sachin Tendulkar.
It was yet another 'Chak De' moment for the girl from Chakdaha.