Urvi Shah
Women’s cricket has been a treat to watch. Yesterday’s match between Team Velocity (led by Mithali Raj) and Team Trailblazers (led by Smriti Mandhana) was like the line “Mahri choriyan choro se kam hai ke” coming true. The way Trailblazers played the game yesterday was clinical. Team Velocity won the toss and chose to bat first.
In the first innings, we can safely say that it was a “Dhakkad” performance from the team Trailblazers. With the game being played on the same ground Sharjah, we were in for some good totals. However, team Trailblazers came with a surprise for the team Velocity. We saw some extremely phenomenal performances from the bowling unit with Goswami (3-0-13-2), Sophie Ecclestone (3.1-1-19-4), Gayakwad (3-1-13-2), Deepti Sharma (4-1-8-1) and Salma Khatun (2-0-4-0) picking up early wickets, bowling maiden overs and conceding not more than 20 run in their overall speels respectively. They restricted the team Velocity at 47/10 in just 15.1 overs. Team Velocity’s batting unit crumbled to the pressure created by team Trailblazers. This was nothing but a clinical performance by the bowling unit. One of those matches were the bowling unit shine and dominates the innings.
In the second innings, team Velocity had to defend a very low total. They stood up to the challenge and played their best bowlers from the start. With an early wicket of captain Smriti Mandhana (6 runs in 9 balls) we thought that the same might happen with this team too. However, Trailblazers still had some other thing in their mind. As much as chasing looked easy as the score to chase was low, we need to appreciate the efforts by the bowlers to restrict and push the game deep. With Deandra Dottin and Richa Gosh scoring 29* and 13* respectively, lead the team to a win. Trailblazers won the game by 9 wickets and within 7.5 overs.
As much as it was a difficult game to watch for the Velocity fans, Trailblazers fan had a delightful time watching the team perform so well. At the same time, we cannot look away from the fact that the team Velocity was playing two matches back to back and the pitch had almost no pace in it. With such a slow pitch to play on, extremely tight schedule which does not really happen in Men’s cricket, we have to applaud the efforts by the team to turn up and perform to their best abilities at that time.
In life, have you experienced tiredness both physically and mentally? A space where you know that there is a busy week in front of you and you have been preparing for it for a while but when the day comes, it just feels impossible to move even when you want to? I feel that is what exactly happened with the team yesterday and that is what happens when we are scheduled to do a lot within a short time frame. Our mind maybe entirely prepared to perform and give our best and make the best out of the opportunity given to us. We compromise with the time space in the schedule and think that if we don’t take this as a challenge and do our best, we won’t get another chance to represent our abilities. At times, that’s the only thing to do as you may not be given those chances again.
It is extremely important to rest and take breaks within your work schedule. Not taking those breaks eventually leads to a burn out situation where the body and the mind find it difficult to concentrate and put effort in the task at hand. Along with having the passion and drive for your field, it is important to schedule your work time. At the end of the day we are all humans and our body needs breaks to recover from the pressure we are putting on it. Let them not tell you on how to be working day in and out to prove your worth and take all opportunities at hand. It is important to work mindfully and take care of your mind and body whenever you get the chance if not, create that chance for yourself. Everything we have is because our body and mind are supporting us. If we don’t take care of it and not respect it enough, it will start to be weak and one day, everything will seem difficult and you will be forced to take a break for a while.
With that being said, we really hope that in the upcoming tournaments the schedule is bit spaced for the teams and have some equal opportunities as the men’s cricket teams. Be it men or women, spacing in the schedule, providing facilities and having recovery breaks helps in enhancing the performance. After a one day break we will be watching Supernovas and Trailblazers playing the final match of the league which will decide who is moving to the finals of the T20 challenge.