A year and four months on from their historic run to the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, India find themselves on the brink of another unprecedented achievement: The Women in Blue take on England in the semi-finals of the Women’s World T20, seeking a maiden final in the biennial competition.
History rests largely in the favour of England – they are virtual constants at this stage of the tournament, having featured in four out of five WT20 semi-finals and won three – but the form-book tips the scales back in the balance, with India coming into the knockouts as group toppers having ended world number one Australia’s 12-match winning streak in the format.
Last year’s World Cup final between the sides had ended in a narrow 9-run win for England, and the evidence points to another closely-contested affair when the teams take to the field in Antigua. The Quint examines the factors which could define the outcome of the clash.
The Ghosts of Lord’s 2017
Sixteen months can be a long time, in cricket as indeed in life. Long enough to erase haunting memories? We’re about to find out.
It isn’t so much that they lost, but the manner of defeat, which pinched India (and arguably still does). After restricting England to 228/7, India were well on course at 138/2 in 33.2 overs and then 191/3 in 42.4 – only for history to slip from their grasp.
Yes, top-level players don’t dwell on the past and what’s done is done. But the oft-referenced ‘psychological edge’, without a doubt, will lie with England. The tighter things get at the end, the likelier the chances of past joys/horrors affecting what transpires.
The Batting Gulf at Windies 2018
Where 2017 and overall big-tournament pedigree suggests England start favourites, current form – with the bat, in particular – presents a strong case for India.
Three Indian batters have totaled 100+ runs at the WT20 coming into the semis (with a fourth on 99); no Englishwoman has hit more than 50 at the end of the group stage.
Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur have delivered at least one game-defining knock each, while Jemimah Rodrigues displayed a maturity beyond her 18-year self during her half century even as captain Kaur went ballistic in the tournament opener against New Zealand.
To be fair to England, their lack of runs is more down to tournament scenarios: Rain forced the abandonment of their opening game against Sri Lanka, while they had to chase measly targets of 64 and 86 versus Bangladesh and South Africa respectively. Still, the fact that their top-four run-getters together have scored fewer runs than Kaur alone, bodes well for India.
England’s Trial by Spin
India’s modus operandi for the WT20, with the ball, was amply clear ahead of the tournament – with at least six spin-bowling options in the first-choice XI, you knew what the team was turning to. Coach Ramesh Powar, a former spinner for the men’s team himself, backed his side’s strength to the extent that India travelled to West Indies with only three fast bowlers who had a combined experience of 17 T20Is.
The faith has been repaid, and the decision stands well justified.
The spinners have combined to take 28 of the 30 wickets scalped by India at the WT20 so far (excluding run-outs); the corresponding figure for England is 10 out of 21.
Front-line spinners Poonam and Radha Yadav have 8 and 7 wickets to their name respectively, while Deepti Sharma has 4. All-round options Dayalan Hemalatha, Anuja Patil and Harmanpreet Kaur, too, have 9 wickets between them.
Main Event Pedigree: Skewed Showdown?
It’s not just the recent memory of last year’s World Cup. England know the big stage in women’s cricket.
The English women have been in three of the five World T20 finals in the tournament’s history. Six of the 11 50-over World Cups too have seen England finish in the top-two.
Even discounting the more ancient past, and looking at just the current crop, their big-tournament pedigree is perhaps second only to Australia. Heather Knight, Natalie Sciver and company are armed with the mantle of 50-over world champions, but a World T20 title hasn’t landed in English hands since the first edition in 2009.
In contrast, the appearance in the World Cup summit clash in 2017 was only India’s second (having also reached the final in 2005). At the WT20, both of India’s two semi-final appearances, in 2009 and 2010, ended in defeat.
Mithali’s Swansong Quest, Harman’s Knockout Fest
The first woman to cross 6,000 runs in ODIs. India’s leading run-getter in T20 internationals – female or male. Nearly 10,000 international runs over the course of a 19-year career.
Mithali Raj has it all. Except a global title for her country.
While a lot of her younger colleagues succumbed to tears after India’s World Cup final loss against England, the captain wore a steely outside. But it wasn’t difficult to imagine the pain on the inside.
An all-time great of Indian cricket – again, female or male – the soon-to-be 36-year-old knows this is one last chance to become a world champion. What that drive translates into in terms of runs is certain to impact which team stays on in the competition.
While Harmanpreet Kaur doesn’t have quite the same weight of either experience or runs, Raj’s successor as India’s T20I captain does possess a sizeable-even-if-small repertoire when it comes to the knockout stage.
Her path-breaking 171 not out in the semi-finals of the World Cup against Australia is the stuff of Indian cricket folklore. Another outing of similar magnitude, and the skipper will have etched another famous chapter in India’s history.
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