As midnight strikes, India gets its date with destiny Cricket news

This was a historic moment not only for Indian cricket, but also for women’s sport in the country, a very monumental moment but sporting success is limited to moments that can be counted on the fingers of one hand, apart from individual exploits; There is no yellow metal World Series championship, no noteworthy trophy adorning the mantle of hockey stars, football players or basketball players. And now, they have accepted the most prestigious trophy in women’s cricket, the ODI World Cup, a trophy that could unleash untapped talent in women’s cricket in the vast country.

Comparisons with Kapil Dev’s landmark 1983 installment will be inevitable. There are fascinating similarities, including the upending of more established powers, the batting prodigies (Kapil Dev and Jemima Rodrigues), and the all-round performances in the final (Mohinder Amarnath and Deepti Sharma). But the pitfalls that women had to pass were more difficult and the dramatic characters were more diverse. The victory will affect the cities, towns and villages that remained untouched. It joins Rohru in Himachal with Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, and Ghawara in Bundelkhand with Golaghat in Assam. And Siliguri, Mohali and Moga, apart from centers like Delhi and Mumbai, will burst with joy over their proud daughters.

Heroism must have created a strong feeling of brotherhood, shaped by doubts, fears, joy and shared suffering. Several times in the tournament they were on the verge of elimination. Three consecutive defeats in the league stage, a sharp result combined for series winners Australia and the defiant South African captain, Laura Wolfhardt, and they had several moments close to the end. But they believed, fought and won. On the way, they discovered the heroes. Jemima produced a hit for the ages in the semi-final. Shafali, who was recalled ahead of the semi-final match for the injured Pratika Rawal, scored a fiery 87 and took two valuable wickets, which was more than double her tally in this format.

But until Wolfhardt perished, India could not breathe comfortably. But with the score on 220 in 41 overs, the required run rate rising to nearly nine runs, the tired South African captain attempted a grueling sweep that ended in the palm of Amanjot Singh’s hand at deep mid-wicket. She juggled the ball several times, but she wouldn’t let it fall, even at the cost of her life. That was the moment India began to believe in it, when life became a dream.

It was a victory for collectivism. If one fails, the other will rise to the occasion. On Sunday, it was the turn of Shafali and Dipti. The latter took five points thanks to her fine breaks and composed half-century. Shafali first fired a 78-ball 87 before picking up two wickets in a seven-over spell of smart street bowling. India has by no means lost its faith. The start was decisive, with the pair of Shafali and Smriti Mandhana adding 104 off 106 balls after being fielded in overcast conditions, and rain delaying the start by two hours.

The enterprising Verma was the bedrock for India who reached 298/7 after 50 overs. She took advantage of anything full outside off stump to push the ball to the boundary and once both openers got off the new ball, the runs started flowing more easily. Mandhana created some delightful cover drives to start her innings and the pair brought up the fifty stand in the seventh over. Sensing a lack of help for the seamers, Wolvaardt rotated the power play, bringing Nonkululeku Mlaba into the attack, but with fielding restrictions still present, this only gave the pair more freedom to pursue the bowling.

Mandhana featured in the 100-run stand at number 18, but just when it looked like she was in for the long run, Chloe Tryon overtook her, ending her first mini stand of 104 runs. The onus was now on Verma to push through the innings and she did so responsibly, combining caution and aggression superbly.

She took full advantage of the timeout at 56, before a bout of convulsions derailed her run. I eventually dropped to 87 but at 166/2 on the 28th. However, South Africa clawed their way back into a pitch that was slowing down as Wolfhardt rotated the bowlers intelligently. Despite some glaring lapses in the field, South Africa’s bowlers remained disciplined with the ball to maintain the scoring rate. Only a much-needed late stand of 47 runs in 35 balls between Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh gave the innings the impetus it needed and ensured India got a score of just under 300.

But this proved to be more than enough. India’s bowlers were largely disciplined, batting at stifling length and hitting at regular intervals. South Africa could only manage three fifty-over stands, Wolfhardt had little support and it was not enough to snatch the dream and destiny from the hands of Harmanpreet and her teammates.