After debacle at ICC Women's WC, all eyes back on the men

System failure! That’s what happened to the Indian women on Tuesday. They froze, failed to reboot and, after a while, stopped functioning altogether.

Was this the same team which beat West Indies in a convincing fashion? What can this ‘malfunction’ be attributed to? Everything. Unlike the men, the Indian eves were spared the pressure of being the hosts. Though they had the home advantage, only a certain section of ‘optimists’ were under the impression that India would finally end their title drought at the World Cup. Others, the not-so-optimistic ones, expected them to make at least the Super Sixes. The Women in Blue proved them all wrong and got eliminated as early as the group stages for the first time in eight editions.

Runs overflowed from the opponents’ bats, thanks to some wayward bowling. But when it came to scoring, Indian batswomen functioned at a snail’s pace. Most importantly, they failed to fire.
Barring Thirush Kamini’s hundred in the first game and Harmanpreet Kaur’s knock against England, only Karuna Jain and Poonam Raut managed half-centuries. Reema Malhotra (38) was the highest scorer for India against Sri Lanka. That sums it all. Also, running between the wickets was atrocious. It would have made all the difference in the game against England, where India lost by 32 runs.

If the batting was average, the bowling was shambolic.
Former India player Diana Edulji said, “The bowling was weak, especially the spinners. India conceded a lot of runs during the Powerplay and their field placements during the death overs were equally bad. How can you do away without having a long-on or long off? ”
“If you see,” she added, “against England, too, the last four overs went for some 30 odd runs and we eventually lost by 32.”

The biggest setback was skipper Mithali Raj’s form. For a world No 1 batswoman, to score 29 runs from three games at an average of 14.50 in a WC is unacceptable.

Against Sri Lanka, more than the toothless attack, it was underestimating the opposition that cost India the game. India may not have expected the Lankans to batter their bowlers. They lost the plot even before they got anywhere near the mammoth target of 283.

Also, bringing in Shubhlakshmi Sharma for the in-form Niranjana Nagarajan was uncalled for. “I couldn’t understand the dropping of Niranjana for Shubhlakshmi. Niranjana was picking up wickets and is aggressive. We won against the West Indies only because of her. At a crucial time, she got Dottin’s wicket. That was the turning point,” said Edulji.

At a time when women’s cricket was finally getting some limelight, India’s loss ruined it all, for the players and spectators alike. It’s back to square one now. And yes, back to men’s cricket!