Never before has a Women's World Cup generated so much buzz in the cricketing world. But over the course of the last three weeks, men’s cricket has taken a back seat as the likes of Mithali Raj, Meg Lanning, Sarah Taylor, Dane van Niekerk and Deandra Dottin took over the limelight.
There were several instances when the ladies fought tooth for tooth to give spectators in England a real spectacle. Now the World Cup is nearing the end of its tunnel and hosts England have secured a place in the finals after a closely fought semi-final against perennial underachievers, the Dane van Niekerk-led South Africa.
The Build
India Women and Australia Women face off in the other semi-final at Derby and the stakes are huge. Both are strong outfits and were second and third in the rankings after the group stages with Australia having one win more than the Indians.
It is worth noting that only three teams have won the Women's ODI World Cup till date – Australia, England and New Zealand – with Australia and England having 6 and 3 titles respectively, while New Zealand won once on their home turf in 2000.
The Indian women have never won the ODI World Cup but came close in 2005 when they reached the finals only to lose to Australia.
Beating the Meg Lanning-led Australian line-up is a daunting task as they found out in the group stages. Lanning and Ellyse Perry combined to crush India in the league game by eight wickets and here they meet again in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Here we try to formulate a list of tips for the Indian Women to counter Lanning and her troops.
1. Targetting Their Openers
Much of Australia's success has seemingly come from Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry in the middle-order. However, a closer look would reveal that openers, Beth Mooney and Nicole Bolton, have been instrumental in Australia's success. The duo have put up two century stands and two half-century stands in the tournament already.
Bolton has made 337 runs in the tournament while Mooney has 231 and if they get going like they did in the group stages, Lanning and Perry will have a perfect base to launch their attack from. It would be up to India's seamers to bring Lanning and Perry early to the wicket and expose them to the new ball.
2. Using the Familiar Conditions to Their Advantage
India have played four of their league stage games at Derby and are familiar with the outfield and conditions. However, all of that is of little effect if they don't exploit the advantage.
Mithali Raj, the Indian skipper, seemed particularly pleased with the drubbing her girls handed out to New Zealand in the league stage when she commented after the match.
“The girls realised it was a must-win game for us to qualify for the semis," Raj said, after the match.
The girls wanted to do well today, give their best and they knew it was one game that could get us into the semis. I’m extremely happy that the girls made a comebackMithali Raj
“I think this is a new India team. In the earlier editions, we’ve seen one bad day and then we’ve never made a comeback into the tournament. This is a very good win for the girls and it will give them a real boost and a lot of confidence,” she added.
3. Forgetting History Against Australia
It is important that Mithali Raj and her girls focus on the task at hand rather than dig up the history of contests between the teams.
Indian women have lost seven of their last eight games against Australian Women dating back to 2011, but all of that will not matter if they can put up a real fight on the day. After all, history has little to do with current performances and that should motivate the girls to give their best against the defending champions.
4. The Roles of Smriti Mandana and Punam Raut
Australian seamers haven't been at their best in the tournament, but India's opening pair need to take advantage of that.
Mandana has faded off after her blistering start to the World Cup. The southpaw started off with a 90 and 106* but her subsequent scores have been 2, 8, 4, 3 and 13 prompting calls for Deepti Sharma to open the innings again.
But Mandana’s attacking instincts could be an X-factor for India against the Aussies and she should stick to what she does best.
Raut, on the other hand, has been in good touch and is the second highest run-scorer for India in the tournament. If Mandana and Raut can get India off to a fine start, they will have Australia worried.
5. Lanning-Perry vs Mithali Raj-Harmanpreet Kaur-Veda Krishnamurthy
Australian women have two of the best batsmen in the modern generation in Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry.
Perry has five half-centuries on the trot in the tournament and if India needs to ascend to the finals, she has to be halted. Lanning, on the other hand, would be itching to come back after injury ruled her out of the South African game. She had smacked a 151 against Sri Lanka in the league stages and at 25, she is already a proven player and skipper.
India, meanwhile, have a middle-order heavily reliant on Mithali Raj. She is the highest run-scorer in Women's cricket, but would need the help of other middle-order batsmen in pushing the Aussies over the edge.
Veda Krishnamurthy and Harmanpreet Kaur struck half-centuries in the previous game and this should be a relief for Raj. However, the manner in which they tackle Australian spinners, Jess Jonassen and Kristen Beams, could well decide the winners of this contest.
As former Indian skipper, Anjum Chopra put it in a chat with ESPNCricinfo:
At this level, it is a mental game. It is not just about realising that you are playing for India, it’s about making your presence felt that you are an Indian player, where the world is actually watching and following you.
All the best, ladies!
(Rohit Sankar is a freelance cricket writer. He can be reached at @imRohit_SN)
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