CHENNAI: There are over 45,238 in the stands cheering on at the DY Patil Stadium In the second T20I against Australia on Sunday. It was the kind of crowd this group of Indian women cricketers have never had at home. During the Women’s T20 Challenge in Pune, the attendance went up to 8000-10,000. This is a whole new experience for them. The last time they had such a massive crowd support was in the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup in Melbourne and it was not a happy memory for them.
On Sunday, Smriti Mandhana had set up the chase of 188 with a 49-ball 79 but now the onus was on Richa Ghosh, who was batting on 25 off just 12, to take them home. They needed six runs from two balls and all Richa could manage was a single. Devika Vaidya was on strike.
The leg-spinning all-rounder was on a comeback trail herself. She had had a day to forget up until that point with the ball, having gone for 32 runs in three overs. The pressure was on. And irrespective of what happens next, she knew it was a moment she would never forget. It was a match she and the Indian team would never forget. India needed four to level the score and get to Super Over, and one could feel the anxiousness not just in the air but across India on television sets and mobiles.
This team has been here before. Coming close to a big win before crumbling. The 2017 World Cup final, the 2022 ODI World Cup match against South Africa, the gold medal match against Australia in the Commonwealth Games. And everytime, somehow they let go of the momentum and ended up on the wrong side of the result. Every time, it has ended in a heartbreak.
And it seemed, Sunday might be no different despite all the things that went their way right from the moment the stadium authorities put up a banner on the gate that read - Stadium full ticket over. They knew the stadium with a capacity close to 60,000 was going to get filled even before the game began. Scores of fans who turned up at the ground to watch them play had to turn back as the tickets were sold out.
And then, Harmanpreet Kaur, to her own surprise, won the toss and opted to bowl. Although very little went their way in the first 20 overs, they knew when there is a target in front of them it will be easier. And what more, they have one of the best chasers in the world at the top of the order. No one in the world has scored more 50+ scores in T20Is while chasing than Smriti.
Hence, it came as no surprise when she and her batting partner, Shafali Verma, unleashed hell on the Australian attack. They smashed 55 runs in the first six overs. Smriti was in such a zone that she treated every bowler with disdain, but with a touch of elegance as it is always the case. It almost felt like she wanted to win this match all by herself at all costs. And she almost did it before getting out in the 17th over.
Her dismissal brought back all the haunting memories of past losses in front of the eyes. Is it going to be yet another agonising story of so near yet so far? Is it going to another nerve-wrecking loss where they were on the cusp of winning till the last moment?
There were a lot of things at stake. A loss would mean it would be harder to come back from a 0-2 loss in a five-match series. Albeit the free entry, over 45, 000 people had turned up to watch them despite the hassles of last-minute announcements. The hype for the inaugural Women’s IPL is brewing as the BCCI had just sought out tenders for media rights of the tournament. Although it is not fair to say so, at some level there was a need to show they are not going to collapse yet again. Not with a T20 World Cup to play in less than two months. And when the moment came, it was all in the hands of Devika.
As Megan Schutt ran in to deliver the final ball, the 25-year-old opened the face of the bat and guided the ball, with no fuss, between short-third man and point fielders to the boundary. There were fist pumps and high-fives in the dugout as the entire stadium erupted in joy. They had levelled the score and taken it to the Super Over. Their first ever one.
When Smriti got another chance to ensure a victory in the Super Over, she grabbed it with both hands — 13 runs in three balls as India finished with 20/1. With the ball, Renuka Singh Thakur completed the rest as Australia managed to score only 16/1. Alyssa Healy smashed Renuka into the stands off the final ball, but it did not matter. Not for the Indian team and the fans who came to watch them play. After all, they had handed the World Champions their first defeat of the year.
Although the series was just 1-1, a victory lap followed as the Indian team went around the ground to thank the crowd. For they know the importance of people turning up for the women’s game. They will be moving to CCI Brabourne Stadium for the rest of the games and would want the same kind of support for the rest of the series.
The series is yet to be won. They still have issues with their bowling attack and fielding. But in front of the biggest audience they have had at home in several years, the Indian team told the world that they are not going to crumble again. That every time it feels like things are going downhill, someone will step up. That when their moment comes, they are not going to let go of it.