Indian Eves Set Sights On ODI World Cup With Series Win Over England News24 –
As Shubman Gill and his team resume their battle with England for the fourth of their five Test matches later today, one is tempted to nudge cricket fanatics to show some lover for another Indian cricket team has just completed an elusive series win against the same opponents. Yes, Harmanpreet Kaur and her girls won five of eight matches across T20 and 50-over games.
Having beaten England, led by all-rounder Natalie Sciver-Brunt 3-2 in the T20 series first, Kaur and company showcased a new-found confidence to down the Englishwomen 2-1 in a three-match series. It was a good series to test the form and bench strength of the team prior to the ODI World Cup scheduled from September 30 to November 2 in India and Sri Lanka.
While the T20 series victory was rather facile as the Indian batters made big runs in the first two games to leave the hosts gasping for breath. Most of India’s top five were amongst the runs with Smriti Mandhana getting a century. Others like Harleen Deol, Jemima Rodrigues and followed suit while keeper-bat Richa Ghosh displayed her power hitting skills.
However, in the three 50-over games, the Indian eves appeared galvanized as the bowlers appeared to have clear plans against each of the English batters. Though India lost a rain-affected match at the Lord’s, in the other two games, played at Southampton and Chester-Le-Street, they dominated right through the 100 overs.
Both the openers – Mandhana and Pratika Rawal combined well to stave off the new ball in the two games while Harleen Deol seemed to have made the number three slot her own during this series. Deol’s ascendance as a reliable batter should be good news for coach Amol Mazumdar, who himself played at the position for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.
Skipper Harmanpreet too had some good batting time at the crease and scored a century to finish things off in the third and final ODI game yesterday, one which India won by 13 runs. While the captain and coach may consider the margin lower than expected, the fact remains that India also unearthed a fast-bowling talent in Kranti Goud, who scalped 6 for 52.
Goud, who hails from rural Madhya Pradesh, is just 18 years and could potentially fill the void left by the legendary Jhulan Goswami as an opening bowler. She is already the youngest fast bowler in ODIs to capture a six-for – a feat that left her captain Harmanpreet Kaur gushing with delight and sharing her player-of-the-match (for a century) with the young quick.
“I am going to share my player-of-the-match award with Kranti. She bowled one of the best spells of her career… we have been dying for that kind of fast bowler in the team,” Kaur said at the post-match presentation last night, before concluding her words with, “You’re a star” and giving the young bowler a hug. (Watch it on X).
The young girl hailing from Gaura village of Sagar, picked up cricket by watching young boys play tennis ball games. She told Sportstar earlier this year that bowling fast was the only thing she cared for. Currently part of the UP Warriorz team in the WPL, Kranti debuted in the ODI game against Sri Lanka and the England series could be her defining moment with 9 wickets.
Goud wasn’t the only shining light in the Indian bowling as Shree Charani emerged as the left-arm spinner that the team has been seeking for a while. She grabbed ten wickets in the T20 series and three more in the ODIs. Team mate Sneh Rana was effusive in her praise for the 20-year-old and noted that Charani put more revolutions on the ball than anyone she’d seen.
If the Indian batting and bowling managed to outdo their English counterparts in the series, it was their effort on the field that had most fans gasping for breath. There were some stunning catches as well as acrobatic run saves with the likes of Jemima Rodrigues and Radha Yadav setting the tone for others to follow.
In fact, even the Indian keeper Richa Ghosh contributed to the effort by constantly encouraging the fielders to dive and stop balls that would have earlier easily split the field and gone to the boundary. The razor-sharp fielding was on display in the final ODI when the Indians literally tied up Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb for long periods.
That this duo got a 170-run partnership spoke more about their patience as the Indian opening bowlers Goud and spinner Deepti Sharma bowled tight lines and lengths while the fielders swooped on anything within the 30-yard circle. Sciver-Brunt was forced to take the aerial route over mid-off and mid-on to seek scoring opportunities.
With India scheduled to play the ODI World Cup on home ground, these young bowlers, the new-found fielding excellence and the solid form of their batters portends well for India. Coach Amol Mazumdar is quite happy with his wards and believes that the WPL has helped players, who may not have stood a chance otherwise, to display their wares.
With the likes of the hard-hitting Shafali Varma likely to be back in the mix, Mazumdar is confident that the brand of fearless cricket that his wards have displayed in recent times should stand them in good stead during the ODI World Cup. Probably, they could be termed one of the favourites this time round alongside the marauding Australians.
As for England, they looked off colour and might require a Herculean effort to get back into contention for the World Cup, a trophy they have won four times since the tournament started in 1973 – a full two years before the first-ever men’s World Cup was played in 1975. Could Harman’s Hurricanes repeat what Kapil’s Devils did in 1983? If anything, this team can.