Women in Blue did not qualify for the semi-final; but win many hearts

Not once, not twice, but thrice did the Women in Blue could not hold on to their nerves in the Group Stage of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2016. After starting off with a comprehensive victory against Bangladesh, the Indian fans across the globe were positive and hoped that the women’s team would certainly make the cut for the knock-outs. Arch rivals Pakistan got the better off India, courtesy their 2-run win as per the D/L method in the rain-interrupted game. Mithali Raj & co. were fighting hard but perhaps not hard enough because everytime they inched closer to the victory, they let loose and helped the opposition get the better of them. At Dharamshala, the hosts had almost pocketed a stunning win against England while defending a humble 91 runs, but lost the match in the final over by two wickets.

It was a do-or-die contest at Mohali when the Indian team locked horns agaist West Indies. The Group was open as none of the teams had qualified for the knock-outs. Was it the pressure or was it the nerves that put the India eves in a shell? Only our girls can answer this. Chasing 115 runs in a big match could get tricky sometimes and that is what exactly happened on Sunday. The bowlers Harmanpreet Kaur (4-23 in 3 overs) and Anuja Patil (3-16 in 4 overs) did a commendable job in restricting the Carribeans to 114 even after the magnificent knocks from Deandra Dottin (45 runs off 40 balls) and skipper Stafanie Taylor (47 runs off 45 balls). Mind you, the girls were capable of chasing this target, as they had chased a record 141 against Aussies in their own backyard a couple of months back.

The otherwise powerful stroke-maker Harmanpreet Kaur (7 runs off 20 balls) looked out of sorts, so did India’s most dependable batswoman and skipper Mithali Raj who was out for a duck. Though Veda Krishnamurthy (18 runs off 16 balls) came out all guns blazing, she failed to score big on the big day. The two Maharashtra girls Anuja Patil (26 runs off 27 balls) and Smriti Mandhana (22 runs off 27 balls) tried to consolidate the innings, but unfortunately Mandhana played one on to her stumps to make her way back to the dug out. Anuja then joined hands with one of the most veteran players in the team Jhulan Goswami (25 runs off 19 balls) but it was too late in the day. Goswami muscled a few shots but was unfortunately run out.

India lost the match by merely 3 runs. A decent fielding unit otherwise, there was a misfield in the final over which went for a boundary. Had it been saved, who knows, the Women in Blue would be out there on Thursday to play their semi-final against New Zealand. 

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