CHENNAI: England needed 33 runs from four overs and they still had Natalie Sciver and Amy Jones in the middle. Deepti Sharma has the ball in hand. She and Sneh Rana had had a good day with the ball up until that point, but they still had a job at hand. Win and enter the final for the Commonwealth Games and compete for the gold. Lose and play for the bronze. The pressure was palpable.
They have been in this situation before. Whether it was the league game against South Africa in the 2022 ODI World Cup, or the final against England five years ago, or the T20 World final in 2020. And every time, India have crumbled under pressure, ending up with a heart break. Which is why, when Smriti Mandhana said after the match that she was praying to all the gods that were there more than thinking about the fielding in the final moments, it was completely believable.
But before looking up to fate and hoping that they would reach the final, Mandhana had done what she could with the bat on the field to the best of her abilities. Unlike the previous global tournaments — Mandhana averages 37.26 in ODI World Cups and 18.62 in T20 World Cups — the Indian vice-captain has been at the top of her form, performing consistently in every match. And Saturday was no different.
Right from ball one, the southpaw was the aggressor as she took apart the England bowling attack to cleaners. Mandhana’s trademark drives, pulls, lofts down the ground were all on display as the 26-year-old forged her touch of elegance and timing with placements to put India on the front foot. The dominance was such that when India reached the 50-run mark in just 4.3 overs, Mandhana was batting on 45 runs from 21 balls with Shafali Verma on five of six.
The southpaw kept going — unleashing her full wrath on England to an extent where she scooped and slog swept with disdain — registering the fastest T20I fifty by an India (23 balls) breaking her own record. By the time she got out for a 32-ball 61 to a scoop shot off a slower ball from Sciver, India were on top.
And despite the middle-over struggles, Jemimah Rodrigues (31-ball 44 n.o) and Deepti (22), once again, took India to 164/5. While spinners dominated the proceedings with the balls, India were once again under pressure, with two set batters in the middle before the last four overs.
With 33 runs to defend, Deepti, who had conceded 15 from three overs up until that point, bowled brilliantly giving away just three runs in the 17th over. Jones was run out in the next over, but Sciver was still batting. And the England stand-in skipper took the attack to Pooja Vastrakar on the 19th, scoring 12 off the first four balls. But, as she pushed for a non-existent two on the fifth delivery, Mandhana — who had dropped Mignon du Preez at a crucial moment in the World Cup match in March — delivered a sharp throw from the deep and caught her short, all but ensuring India’s place in the final.
As Rana successfully defended 14 runs, helping India win by four runs, celebrations broke in the dugout. After years of heartbreaks, India, despite all their on field tactical flaws and questionable selections, had held their nerve against a top team to enter the gold medal match in their maiden appearance at the Commonwealth Games.
While the off-spin duo played a vital role with 46 runs in eight overs for three wickets, it was Mandhana’s performance that stole the show. It’s been that kind of a series where she has looked almost invincible, often falling prey to unforced errors from herself more than anything else. And it has been quite a few years since Mandhana had exhibited that kind of consistent dominance. She said as much after the match.
“In the last two-three weeks I was batting well and even before we came here (England), I was batting well in the camp. I found a good touch, a touch I felt I had when I was batting two, three years back. I was looking forward to coming here because if I get that touch back, I just have to go out there and be aggressive. I am really happy that I found the touch,” she said after the match.
With 153 runs from four innings, Mandhana is the leading run scorer in the tournament so far. Although she has had her moments of individual glory in the 2017 and 2022 ODI World Cup, she had faded off by the time India reached the knockouts. And what’s more, she was in the middle of it all in the field as India faced an early exit from the latest edition in New Zealand.
This time, however, things seem different. She seems to have found her midas touch. As Australia and New Zealand play for a place in the final, she hopes to weave magic with the bat on Sunday, when it matters the most for India. “I hope that the touch continues and I can do something special for the team in the final as well,” she added.
In the lead up to the tournament, all the talk from Mandhana and the team management has been about winning gold and settling for nothing less. Now, both the southpaw and the Indian team are just one perfect day at the office away from achieving the dream.