NAVI MUMBAI: "I hope they continue with the good performances. It will go a long way in cementing the future of women's cricket in India," Shantha Rangaswamy, the captain who won India their first Test match on home soil back in 1976, had told this daily before the start of the Test match against England.
For someone who has seen Indian women's cricket go from Test series to one-off matches over the decades, Shantha knew how vital this opportunity was — not just for the present bunch of players who had not had the opportunity in years but also for the coming generation who might want to make a case for more chances.
Since the 2022 ODI World Cup in New Zealand, a generation of players who laid down the foundation of professionalism in women's cricket, who fought too many battles on multiple fronts have been fading into the sunset one by one. Slowly the names that made many fall in love with women's game called their time — Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj for India, Anya Shrubsole or Katherine Sciver-Brunt for England, Katey Martin and Amy Satterthwaite for New Zealand and many more. During the early days of their careers, these cricketers did not get regular white-ball fixtures, Tests were even harder. That is why Katherine, who has played most Tests from that era, has 14 caps.
With these foot-soldiers of professionalism retired from international cricket, the generation that followed is only now getting to see the glory days — whether it is the South African crowd getting behind the home team in the T20 WC final earlier this year or the tickets for the WPL final getting sold within hours. "We didn't get that many opportunities (early) when we were playing cricket, especially if we are talking about Test cricket," said a candid Harmanpreet Kaur said after India's first win on home soil in nine years.
"I hope the new generation gets many more Tests. We have quite a busy schedule with T20Is and ODIs, but Tests are something that teaches you a lot of patience and helps you improve your skills. If we get more Tests, that will improve us as players."
Jemimah Rodrigues, who has found it difficult to get her rhythm going on home turf in white-ball cricket over the years, flourished in the first innings. Pooja Vastrakar, who has seen many ups and downs in her career, was on song with the ball in the second innings. Kaur herself probably learned about different aspects of leadership on her captaincy debut in the Test than she would have in many white-ball fixtures. Test cricket matters because it demands focus on every aspect of the game. It either brings out the best version of the player or humbles them with complete brutality. India's victory, in less than three days, highlights the first part.
Earlier this year, singer-songwriter Billie Eilish produced a song called 'What Was I Made For?' for the movie — Barbie. The lyric of the song goes, 'Cause I, cause I, I don't know how to feel. But I wanna try. I don't know how to feel. But someday I might. Someday I might'. For nine members of the Indian playing XI in this match, these words reflected the reality as they had no experience of playing a Test at home. The seven sessions over the past three days had given them a win, countless memories of playing in whites, and the confidence to stand up again in this format.
It also gave the answer to the question 'What was I made for' in their case. And it's simple. They are made for building innings. They are made for tactical gambits. They are made for setting up the batter. They are made for waiting patiently to get back on track. They are made for long spells. They are made for toiling through sessions.
In short, they are made for Test cricket and they deserve more of it.