It took a few games for India to warm up in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, and on Wednesday they finally managed to put together a complete game to beat Sri Lanka by 83 runs. Leading the way were their two leaders – women’s captain Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
The two who did not bat together, only crossed paths as the former was dismissed and the latter batted at No 3. But in the time they spent on the field, they covered 20 overs – Smriti scoring. 38-ball 50 in the 13th over and Harmanpreet remained unbeaten on a blistering 27-ball 52 for his fastest half-century in this format. Combined, the two strikes took India to 172/3 – their highest ever in a World Cup, surpassing South Africa’s 166 from a few hours ago. In reply, Sri Lanka managed just 90 runs in 18.5 overs, as India registered their biggest win in terms of run-margin in the tournament’s history.
Those efforts from South Africa in the early afternoon perhaps came at the right time for India too, knowing that there is an opportunity to grow if they win the toss. There has been a lot of talk about the stadium, the heat, and going out in Sharjah and Dubai which has made this World Cup have the lowest points so far. But after going slow against Pakistan in the run-up, India did not waste much time to face the Asian champions.
Early exchange
The impetus came from Shafali Verma, who struggled against Pakistan despite contributing later on. It is rare to see Shafali not hitting a single boundary in the powerplay when he bowls 6 overs. But the intention felt different from go, even if it didn’t cause a quick start. The Indian openers started playing attacking shots from the first over, with both batsmen looking to go to the air if possible. By the end of the 5th over, Shafali had managed to find the boundary three times.
Smriti, however, was on 6 off 10 balls at that point and it took her a while to get going. A shot that went up in the 6th over seemed to open up the left-hander who is used to watching the world. From there, he hit 34 runs in the next 18 balls to get past Shafali, who started to struggle for timing after the powerplay. The acceleration of Smriti came at the right time in India.
But when the openers were dismissed in the 13th over, the focus was on Harmanpreet. Not known to be a fast starter, it helped India that for a while when the new batsmen came in, Jemimah Rodrigues played a nice little game to ease the pressure on the Indian captain. But once he found his footing, Harmanpreet played one of his best knocks in recent times, blasting both sides of the wicket. Most of his runs came from the arc between cover and midwicket, as he smashed 8 fours and a mammoth 84m six, the longest in the tournament so far.
“We are very happy to come today, Shafali scored very well in the powerplay and we started well. Towards the end, the way Harman batted was fun to watch,” said Mandhana. “The wicket and conditions are not what we thought they would be when we get to the World Cup, so we had to change our game quickly,” he added.
The last two or three days, therefore, were about understanding the gun that worked in these areas, he said. “As a team we talked about running hard between the wickets and targeting in pairs. This is a hard working wicket. But Harman didn’t make it look difficult, the way he timed the ball was amazing. I think it was not like a flat wicket to bat on. But once you’re set up, you start to see the ball better and you know which areas to target.”
Sri Lanka needed a big effort from their top three if they were to stand a chance but they were reduced to 6/3 in the third over, and from there it was a question of victory for India and promotion for NRR. On the part of Chamari Athapaththu – who came to this tournament with great faith – it was an unforgettable game as the batsmen as a whole failed to shoot. But Harmanpreet and Smriti ensured that India were flexible, finally clicking into high gear as a unit.