CHENNAI: There were reports. The players - Indian and England – when asked, were sharing their thoughts on her with an ‘if’. The tributes had already started coming.
But even as Jhulan Goswami took the field at Hove in the first ODI against England, her first since the World Cup game against Bangladesh in March, there was no official, categorical confirmation from her or the team that the series would be her swansong. That there was no pre-series press conference didn’t help either.
However, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana put everything to rest after smashing a sublime 91 on Sunday, helping India get a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
“I want to say that this series is for Jhulu di (Jhulan Goswami), her bowling was amazing. All our efforts in this series will be for Jhulu di,” the southpaw said after the match, confirming that one of the greatest cricketers India has ever produced would be playing the final international game at Lord’s this week.
After the drubbing they got in the T20Is series, the first ODI at Hove was a near-perfect game for India. Everything, from the toss, went India’s way. They had opted to chase, field three pacers as expected, and 39-year-old Goswami showed she’s still got it with the figures of 10-2-20-1. There was the late away movement, the nip-backer that trapped Tammy Beaumont and all while clocking a pretty decent pace.
At the other end, spinners Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma tied up the run rate, conceding just 73 runs in 20 overs with three wickets to show. They were sharp on the field too. If one were nit-pick, they couldn’t clean up the lower-order as England’s No 7-9 added 99 runs as the hosts finished with 227/7. The chase was as clinical as it could be with Mandhana, Yastka Bhatia, and Harmapreet Kaur scoring half-centuries.
If Mandhana finding her ‘magic touch’ when she landed in England for the Commonwealth Games was crucial for India, perhaps the most significant thing that happened to this team was the return of form from Harmanpreet. Having had a poor run in the ODIs since the 2017 World Cup, there were calls for her to be dropped just before this year's edition. But as seen in the past, the global event brought out the best in her.
The 33-year-old scored 313 runs at an average of 53 and a strike rate of 91.64. What has stood out is how she has continued her good form since recording her best cricketing year yet in a 13-year-long career. Had the then ODI vice-captain’s poor form persisted, a lot could have gone down differently on and off the field since.
While it was expected that the ODI transition, in the batting department, would be smoother in the post-Mithali Raj era, they would want to replicate this dominance when they bat first as well. That said, there is very little to make of India's performance through the course of this series.
After all, they do not have an ODI assignment till June 2023. Even the Women’s Championship points aren’t much of a factor, considering India would be directly qualifying as the hosts for the 2025 event.
This means, to quote Mandhana again, this series and whatever this team does in the next two games will be all about an all-time great of the sport and providing her with a fitting farewell.
Brief scores: England 227/7 in 50 ovs (Davidson-Richards 50; Deepti 2/33) lost to India 232/3 in 44.2 ovs (Mandhana 91; Cross 2/43).