As we usher into a new year, fans across the country will see a more prevalent women’s cricketing system falling in place. With the commencement of a full-fledged women’s IPL, more talents will be served with a platform to flourish. But as we move ahead in time, what happened in the past 12 months also has to be taken as a lesson.
The year 2022 was indeed a roller-coaster ride for the Indian women’s team. After a disheartening exit from the 50-over World Cup, the team saw a major shift in leadership – the great Mithali Raj called it quits after having an illustrious career and passed the baton to Harmanpreet Kaur. A few months later, legendary speedster Jhulan Goswami played her last game at Lord’s while her teammates presented her with a 3-0 ODI series win against England as the best farewell gift ever.
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Now the team is in the hands of young guns who have done a spectacular job in white-ball cricket. But the balance in the team is yet to be achieved.
2022 – Glorious beginning but a gloomy end
India focused more on the shortest format as they gear up for the T20I World Cup 2023, starting in February in South Africa. The beginning of their preparation was astonishing – hammering Sri Lanka 2-1 in a three-match series in their own backyard and then defeating Pakistan in what was their first-ever entry to the Common Wealth Games in Birmingham.
That was the start of their winning spree which even embroiled hosts England. India were in the finals but their hope for a gold medal was shattered by the mighty Aussies. Harmanpreet and her girls had to settle for the silver but that victory added to India’s overall medal tally.
The CWG setback was then overcome by a glorious Asia Cup Triumph but the reigning champions were recently treated miserably by Alyssa Healy’s Australia, that too, at home. The touring party thrashed India in almost every game and ended up pocketing the series 4-1.
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The series defeat against Australia was certainly an eye-opener for the Indian team. They had a perfect cricketing calendar year until the Aussie gate-crashed their party, leaving them with lots of questions to answer.
Too much dependency on the top-order:
India certainly lacks depth in their batting order. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana form a formidable opening pair but if any of them gets out early, the next batters falling in line seem to get pressurised – something that was common during the Australia T20Is. Jemimah Rodrigues was back from an injury lay-off but couldn’t pick herself up in time. Harmanpreet may be the highest scorer for India this year in T20Is but it’s high time for her to play more responsibly. No doubt over her fearlessness but she needs to pick her shots a tad more carefully so that if she’s there in the middle, the opposition should feel the heat.
The rise of Richa Ghosh
Indian middle-order has found a gem of a cricketer in Richa Ghosh. She is just 19 but smashes the ball with full authority. Her T20I strike rate is over 130 which itself speaks about her calibre. An ardent fan of MS Dhoni, Richa has been good behind the wickets as well but there is still scope for improvement.
Lack of firepower in bowling
Indian have found a great pacer in Renuka Singh who has been leading the attack after Jhulan but the other bowlers in the team need to back her with the same intensity. With 22 wickets in as many games, Renuka is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in 2022. But on most occasions, she has lacked the backing from the other pacers in the team. Before heading into the T20 World Cup, the team would hope for a speedy recovery of Pooja Vastrakar, whose absence made a big difference in the Australia series.
Indian spinners – most effective
The Indian spinners had a great time in 2022. Rajeshwari Gayakwad leads the charts of most wickets in ODIs with 24 scalps in just 17 games. She has also picked up 10 wickets in 12 T20I games. Her partner, Radha Yadav has been brilliant as well, picking up 11 wickets in 20 T20Is. The duo is brilliantly assisted by all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who has been an asset for the Indian team.
Importance of Deepti Sharma
Going into the T20 world cup, the presence of Deepti Sharma will be the key for India. In 2022, she has not only scored runs but has also got wickets when needed. This year, she has scored 370 runs in 25 T20Is, possessing a strike rate of 136.02. She even has a couple of half-centuries to her credit. On the bowling front, she’s the highest wicket-taker for India in 2022 in the shortest format with 29 scalps to her credit. Also, with 22 wickets in 16 games, she stands second in ODIs.
Team India will now be heading for the Rainbow Nation where they will play a try-series featuring hosts South Africa and the West Indies before heading into the showpiece event.
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