NAVI MUMBAI: After a month of cricket, it's finally here. India's day of days. Under the lights at the DY Patil, the women's team has the chance to derail one of the winningest teams in any sport. It's not the final — that's on Sunday — but this one feels like it. Go big (and qualify for the final) or go home (and wonder why their opponents are built like this).
The problem for India is Australia, as a rule of thumb, always go big. Australia do not lose a lot of games at this level. The last time they lost a World Cup game came in 2017, thanks to a Harmanpreet Kaur special in Derby. It was, however, a black swan event. When the current Indian captain played that hand in the semifinal, the Indian team had Punam Raut (now 36), Mithali Raj (42), Jhulan Goswami (42) and Shikha Pandey (36). It also had Smriti Mandhana (20 then) and Deepti Sharma (20) apart from Harmanpreet (27).
An entire generation have disappeared. People who were viewed with promise have gone on to become established stars now. A new generation have appeared on the horizon, some of them becoming cricketers thanks to Kaur's bedlam in Derby. Jemimah Rodrigues (16 then), Richa Ghosh (13), Shree Charani (12) and Kranti Gaud (13) were children then. Now, they are living the dream.
Shafali Verma (13), now 21, thought she would be reduced to the role of cheerleader as she didn't make the final squad. On Wednesday, she addressed the pre-match press conference ahead of what promises to be one of the most important games in the history of women's cricket in India. Beat the team that never loses to anybody in an ICC event — they have won 15 on the bounce in 50-over World Cups — and they will have eliminated their biggest competition before the final.
No pressure, then.
Verma, yet to feature at this World Cup, is not taking any pressure. “Smriti told me that I just need to play my game; there’s no pressure. I just have to play the way I know, without panicking. So yes, I’ve been given a lot of freedom, and I’ll try to respect the good balls and hit the ones in my range,” Verma explained. It will all once again come down to the experienced trio in the batting department — Kaur, Mandhana and Rodrigues.
As far as Australia are concerned, head coach Shelly Nitschke kept her cards close with regards to whether Alyssa Healy would take the field. The Australian captain, having suffered a calf strain, did train on Tuesday but skipped optional practice on the eve of the match. At the same time, they are “under no illusions” about the depth India have and the strength they possess, especially in these conditions. “We expect a tough contest. I know that India have a really strong batting order. They throw everything at us, so we certainly need to make sure that we're ready for them. The planning that goes into making sure that we're getting that right as well. Every time we've played them more recently, they've come out and they've gone pretty hard and we expect nothing short of that tomorrow night (Thursday),” Nitschke said.
They have had their struggles to get this far, but with India, the question hasn’t always been about skill and talent. They have had it for a while, but to beat Australia it would not be enough. Like the tournament tag line says, India will need all the ‘will to win’ on Thursday.
The hosts know they have what it takes to beat Australia. Since the beginning of 2010, they have beaten them four times in 26 matches. Granted it's not a lot but it counts for something especially when you are playing a team who will happily blast open a closed door even without getting a sniff.
At this World Cup, teams have given them a sniff, including the hosts. Each time, they have honed in on that, like bloodhounds. So, it's very pretty clear what Kaur & Co have to do. Play the perfect game.
