Today could be a game-changing day in this cricket-crazy country. Kapil Dev’s Devils did the unthinkable by beating the mighty West Indies to become 1983 world champions, making cricket the default sport Sportsin India. Now Harmanpreet Kaur and her band of merry girls have a chance to usher in a ‘1983 moment’ of their own.
Harmanpreet’s 171-run knock against Australia in the 2017 World Cup semifinal was a seminal moment for Indian women’s cricket, and what Jemimah Rodrigues achieved at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on Thursday evening ensured that her innings would be spoken of in the same breath.
Chasing down a world record target, that too in a World Cup knockout game against the near-invincible Aussies, is a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence. It needed talent, grit and belief – especially when they had messed up a much smaller chase against England 11 days earlier.
The South Africans may not possess the aura of the Australians, but the first job for Harmanpreet and head coach Amol Muzumdar would have been to ensure that the players came back to earth from the incredible high they had just experienced.
The packed stadium for the semifinal indicated that women’s cricket is no longer the poorer cousin. Everybody loves a winner and if India gets the silverware, that too in front of a home crowd, these players will become heroes for life. The morning after the semifinal, ticket prices for the final were going through the roof, but still people were ready to pay. The allure of being there, in the flesh, to see history being made, is hard to resist.
It’s all a far cry from just over a week ago when India’s spot in the semifinals was far from certain after three close defeats. The balance of the team and its mental and emotional resilience was put to question. Criticism was coming thick and fast, and from all directions.
In this fishbowl environment, when every decision and selection call is dissected threadbare, it takes fortitude to keep the eye on the task at hand and realise that the only persons capable of engineering a turnaround were the players themselves.
Bouncing back
Jemimah was the main architect of the semifinal victory, but what she said thereafter would gain her respect and help many people, including elite sportspersons, identify with her.
The girl from Mumbai had had an ordinary start to the World Cup and had been omitted from the playing XI for the game against England. The agony of being left out of the squad for the 2022 World Cup hadn’t been forgotten. After her match-winning hundred on Thursday, she bared her heart and described how difficult the past few weeks had been for her, and how often she had cried at how things were turning out.
Athletes at the top level are often considered to possess granite-strong self-belief, not entertaining any doubt about their ability.
But they are, first and foremost, human like anyone else and go through high and low phases. Virat Kohli once put this battle with anxiety and mental demons eloquently, and so did Jemimah after her finest hour. It puts the point succinctly that it’s alright to not be alright at all times. It makes the achievement even more praiseworthy as, in addition to the formidable opponents on the field, one has to conquer the inner doubts about one’s ability.
“I was going through a lot of anxiety at the start of the tournament and it was a lot before a few games also. I used to call my mom and cry, cry the entire time, let it all out, because when you’re going through anxiety, you just feel numb. You don’t know what to do. You’re trying to be yourself. And also during this time, my mom, my dad, they supported me a lot.”
Statements like these show that top competitors are not robots, they have feelings and apprehensions like anyone else. It also says much about the contribution of family and close friends to ride through tough times.
Challenges harden sportspersons and bring out the inner steel in them. There has not been a top-level performer who hasn’t had to go through a tough phase in their career. But once they overcome it, they become much better players.
Eye on the ball
The atmosphere at Sunday’s final is likely to be akin to what was seen at the 2023 men’s World Cup final in Ahmedabad, where the crowd had turned out not for a sporting contest but a coronation after India’s dominant waltz through the competition. And everyone knows how things turned out that day.
The fans would do well to remember that Laura Wolvaardt’s team got the better of India at Visakhapatnam in the round robin stage of the tournament. After beating Australia, India may be considered favourites, but South Africa have a few match-winners of their own. What Nadine de Klerk did to them would be fresh in the minds of Harmanpreet and Muzumdar.
Wolvaardt is coming off an epic knock of her own – 169 in 143 balls – in the rout of England in the other semifinal. Then there is Marizanne Kapp, one of the foremost all-rounders in the women’s game, who hit 42 off 33 balls and followed it with a spell of 5/20 in that game.
Australia’s dominance in women’s cricket in recent times – they had a 15-game winning streak in the 50-over World Cup before Thursday’s defeat – was built around a long batting line-up and an almost unending list of all-rounders in the XI. But in the final, both teams would rely on their top order to get the job done.
One would expect that most of the runs for India would be scored by Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah. If Shafali Verma, who returned to the side to replace the injured Pratika Rawal, can get the hosts to a fast start, they will be on their way. Giving the finishing flourish should be Richa Ghosh’s job.
On the bowling front, Kranti Gaud has been a revelation but the meat of the attack is their spinners. Left-armer Shree Charani has more than held her own even when batters have come after her. Deepti Sharma would be relied upon to contribute with both bat and ball.
South Africa have had some forgettable outings in the World Cup – bowled out for 69 against England in their opener and 97 in their last league game against Australia. So, one is not quite sure which version of them will turn up on any given day. But therein lies the threat for India. On the evidence of the semifinals, nothing can be ruled out.
