Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai
“We have been waiting for this day, we have come all the way from Mumbai to watch,” said one of the aficionados, who had come with his family to witness India take on Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium. “We are big fans of Smriti Mandhana. My daughter and son, all are Indian cricket fans, it is in our blood.”
This was around the time when there was scorching heat alongside the humidity. Basically, the conditions were extreme. So extreme that this correspondent’s phone got overheated during a live show and it took about 20 minutes to switch on again.
Even while travelling via taxi to the stadium, one pondered whether enough fans would brave the harsh conditions and make it. It was about 10 minutes before the clock struck 12 PM that my colleague, Snehasis Mukherjee, and I were surprised by the number of fans making a beeline for entry. If one family observed that they had travelled from a city that was approximately 2000 km away from Dubai, then another group noted that they made their way to Dubai from Karnataka to get a glimpse of Shreyanka Patil’s bowling.
There were more surprises waiting for the two of us. Yet another band of cricket addicts pointed out: “We are very excited, we were waiting for this game for one month.” It was also heartening to see many women at the ground. “Not many are supporting the Indian women’s team,” said a father of two. “My girls play for the Sharjah cricket team, and we have come here to support the Indian women’s team.”
There were many more fans who showed their passion for women’s cricket through their words. So, did they get their money’s worth? To some extent, the India-Pakistan encounter had its share of thrills and spills. The Indian bowlers, in particular, would have brought cheer to their legions of fans. It was a quintessential first over from Renuka Singh as she found just enough swing and used the leg-cutter to good effect to make the initial incision. Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka and Asha Sobhana showcased guile and bowling smarts to pick up wickets as well.
From India’s point of view, there were a few shortcomings too. Sobhana dropped sitters once again. Before India’s second match of the T20 World Cup, the fielding coaching did have an extensive session with Richa Ghosh and Sobhana. It seemed to have helped Richa as she grabbed a fine one-handed catch after dropping a sitter in the previous game. Not so with Sobhana.
There was also the curious case of India taking almost 19 overs to chase down the target of 106. Granted, at that time of the day, the outfield was on the slower side and the pitch too was assisting the spinners. However, India could have shown a little more urgency and looked to hunt down the target earlier. The fact of the matter is that India’s Net Run Rate (NRR) currently stands at -1.217, while New Zealand and Australia have NRRs of 2.9 and 1.9.
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Despite those few drawbacks, the fans seemed to have enjoyed the action. When Deepti’s LBW decision was reversed, the Indian supporters livened up the atmosphere. Even after the completion of the game, a bunch of Indian cricket devotees waited outside the team bus to catch a glimpse of their favourite players, especially Mandhana. As the bus left the stadium, chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” resonated around the ground.
It is true that the history books will show that India beat Pakistan. But the real winners on the day were thousands of fans who withstood the tough conditions and encouraged their favourite teams right through the match.
Also Read: Bowlers headline India’s hard-fought win over Pakistan