Quick guide:
Women’s Cricket is back in India
The wait was finally over. After 364 days of no international cricket and the last one being the World Cup against Australia on 8th March 2020, Indian Women’s Team was on field. They just had a 4-match Women’s T20 Challenge during the Men’s IPL 2020 in UAE in November. Its sad as a fan to see them getting less opportunities to test themselves, better their games and train more.
Read: Jio Women’s T20 Challenge 2020
On one end there was a lot of uncertainty as to when they will play next and against which team. On the other hand, there was a lot of buzz around who will make it to the team as there is another World Cup coming up and Indian Team has to start getting the groove.
In India, there is a lot of attention given to the Men’s team from a fan’s perspective and it’s not wrong because for the longest time we have been exposed to their matches and most of us started following the game watching them play. But as fans, we also have to now learn, understand and support the Women’s team who have performed extremely well in the past and are representing the country.
The day had arrived. Announcements were made about the team, location of the game, the schedules and India were to face South Africa after almost a year of no cricket. On the other hand, South Africa women had played a series against Pakistan Women in Jan-Feb 2021. It was a good game of cricket awaiting us. India was looking to find the rhythm back while South Africa was looking to play their strengths.
Match Summary
The series had been scheduled to be played at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. It was the first time that both the teams were playing a match in that stadium. 10% of audience was allowed in the stadium which was a good call to encourage youngsters and kids to come watch and support their players.
South Africa Women won the toss and chose to field first. India walked out to bat with Smriti and Jemimah as openers. Initially South Africa was finding it difficult to find their lengths right which Smriti took advantage of and scored a quick 14 (20) runs. It seemed like she was in a good touch whereas Jemimah (1) on the other side was still finding her groove.
Soon after the top order were dismissed (40-3), it was time for the Captain and Vice-captain to build a good partnership and keep the score board running. Mithali Raj (50) and Harmanpreet Kaur (40) built a 50-run partnership to steady the innings and bring some balance to the game. Mithali Raj (50) and Deepti Sharma (27) also built a 50-run partnership.
Soon after Deepti and Mithali Raj’s dismissal, India saw a collapse in the batting unit. South Africa bowling unit unsettled the Indian batting lineup. Shabnim Ismail (10-3-28-3) and N. Mlaba (10-1-41-2) were the bowlers with maximum wickets. The SA bowling unit bowled some beautiful deliveries, recovered after expensive overs and picked up wickets time to time. They restricted the batters from scoring more runs, the captain rotated the bowling spells well and did not let Indian batters to settle. They successfully restricted India to 177-9. South Africa needed 178 runs to win in 50 overs.
It was now time for the Indian bowling unit to step up and defend 177 runs. Jhulan Goswami and Monica Patel who was playing her debut game started with the opening spell. L. Lee (83*) and L. Wolvaardt (80) build a highest partnership of 169 runs. The bowlers were finding it difficult to stop the Lee X Wolvaardt show. It was a treat to the eyes to watch them bat. There was elegance and timing to every shot they played.
It was only after 37.1 overs that India found a breakthrough with SA needing only 9 runs to win. J. Goswami (10-1-38-2), the experienced bowler on the side was the one who picked up 2 wickets towards the end of the chase. South Africa successfully chased 178 won the game by 8 wickets.
SA outplayed India in all departments. It was good to see them play their best game. They took the series 1-0 with 4 more ODIs to be played.
Indian unit did look good and in touch but were not there enough to get a breakthrough and start the series with a win. It is understandable that coming back to international games after 364 days, with only few practice sessions was not going to be easy. But this game time will add up to their process and help them find their groove as a team.
Match Learning: Confidence and Self-belief
Every time we watch a women playing, be it any sports, we know they are breaking stereotypes, fighting for their spots and chasing their dreams. It is always a game to watch and get inspired from. No matter which team wins, as a cricket fan, seeing Women’s cricket grow is always going to be a good feeling to experience.
In life too, we know so many women around us who are chasing their dreams and making it count. Inspiring young minds to pursue their dreams and fight against the odds. Its International Women’s’ day today and no better feeling than to see women do well in different walks of life and in sports.
The way Indian team stepped up to the challenge of playing against a strong International team and put their best foot forward, not give up (giving dot balls) and fighting till the last ball possible talked about the courage and self-belief the players have. Mithali Raj and her team is known for their “won’t give up easily” attitude. Even though it was a late breakthrough, it told us that after ever hard time in the process, there will be a time to celebrate.
The ability to stay calm under pressure, is what we all need to develop in order to perform our best. While it may take a while, it does not mean you will never be able to do that. While we may have had less opportunities to better ourselves, we should stay confident, take the positives from the situation and keep moving forward. Self-belief is the key factor in situations where you experience/ have to perform after a long time. It will take a while to get back to the flow of it but remember, you are not starting fresh after the break, you are starting with experience behind and around you.
Confidence is one factor that the South African team were riding on yesterday. Every member in the squad looked confident with their body language and their approach. Sometimes, holding on to that confidence helps in creating pressure on the opponent in a game. Similarly, in life, when we step out with confidence and know what we are doing, put our best foot forward we are more likely to find success in the task at hand.
While the series is a long one and promises that there is lot to learn from it, I will keep sharing the lessons from the game after every game.
Urvi Shah (Author, Beyond the Matches)
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