This is not a rant. Rather, it is a lament. India were poor last night. Absolutely awful. And because of that, they have now pushed themselves to the brink of being eliminated in the group stage of the T20 World Cup. Everything that could go wrong did. The truth is India did not deserve to win. Not when you make such basic mistakes, and play such pathetic cricket.
Let’s start from the top. The fielding from the very beginning was shambolic. From Richa Ghosh making a mess of a reasonably easy chance, to Renuka Thakur conceding a boundary, India were amateurish on the field. And that’s where Amol Mazumdar and the support team have to cop the blame. They have everything at their disposal at the moment, and yet, there has been no improvement. Fielding isn’t rocket science, and clearly, the effort needed to improve is lacking. For months and years, we have seen the same mistakes made. Someone has to be held accountable.
If the fielding was below par, the batting was shocking. India were meek and looked like a side that were scared to even compete. Shafali Verma, since the time her youthful exuberance wore off, has been consistently inconsistent. It is sad, but she just doesn’t do justice to the talent she has. Harmanpreet Kaur at No. 3 was always going to be an issue. In 18 previous knocks at that position, she had never made a half-century, and that didn’t change in Dubai.
With Smriti Mandhana gone, the captain needed to be there. But as on many occasions in the past, Harman failed under pressure. Richa was never in the game and Jemimah Rodrigues looked to be the only one who could make a difference. Deepti Sharma, the player in form, couldn’t even hit full tosses for boundaries and eventually got out to a tame shot. The truth is, as an Indian fan, it was torture. To endure it for three hours took effort, and at the end of it all, you were left totally disillusioned.
India done in by poor cricket in their Women’s T20 World Cup opener.
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India are now on the verge of elimination. The run rate has taken a beating, and they now have to win all their games to stay alive. And that includes a match against Australia, the world champions. Not that India aren’t capable of an upset. But from what we saw last night, this side isn’t really mentally there at the moment.
With the BCCI having done all it can, the players have to take responsibility. The coach as well. For far too long, we have blamed the board and everyone else. Now it is all about the players and the support staff. If Harman can’t do the job, look beyond her. Enough is enough, and no player should have the temerity to take an India spot for granted.
I have to say I am writing this with a lot of pain and anger. I was very hopeful this could be the 1983 moment for the women’s game. The inflection point. Now it seems I was wrong. Badly wrong. Instead of 1983, it could be the equivalent of 2007. India are staring down the barrel, and the clock is ticking for Harmanpreet and her team.