Women’s World Cup: Can Harmanpreet & Co finally go the distance at home?

A 50-day countdown began for the ICC ODI Women’s World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka, with a ceremony in Mumbai on Monday, reviving the view that it’s high time the Women in Blue end the jinx for a major ICC silverware. The likes of seasoned captain Harmanpreet Kaur and opener Smriti Mandhana came agonisingly close to clinching the title in the 2017 final at Lord’s, which charted a new course for the women’s game in India, but it’s now time to go the distance.

The hosts, buoyant after a 2-1 away series win against England, will set the ball rolling against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener in Bengaluru on 30 September. The marquee India-Pakistan match will be played on 5 October in Colombo in Sri Lanka as per the hybrid model agreed upon by the respective boards.

The memorable 2017 edition, which had Mithali Raj leading the squad, saw the emergence of Harmanpreet as one of the cleanest hitters of the game with a whirlwind unbeaten 171 against Australia in the semi-final. Smriti also has fond memories of the tournament, where she aggregated 232 runs, including a century against the West Indies, while Jemimah Rodrigues was a budding youngster who had gone to the airport to receive the team which fell short by nine runs against England in the final. 

“This time, I hope we will give our 100 per cent and try to break that final barrier that we have all been waiting for,” said Harmanpreet (36), for whom this could be the last 50-over showpiece. It was in 2009 that the spunky batter from Punjab took her maiden bow in international cricket and she is now a perfect example of been there done that, including leading India to a runners-up finish against the invincible Australia in a World T20 final at the MCG in 2020.

Holding up the trophy on 2 November (the venue of the final will depend on whether Pakistan figure in it or not) will be like an icing on the cake for her and she says the team is ready for it.  “(The confidence is) very high. The kind of cricket we’ve played over the last couple of years, gives us a lot of confidence,’’ she said.

Speaking at an interactive session with the media, Smriti, a multiple winner of the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year, echoed similar sentiments. ‘’The mindset has changed over the last two or three years. There’s a calmness with which I want to go about on the field. Our whole team is heading in that direction. We know where we want to work hard. And when we enter the field, we know we’ve just got to implement,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, Jemimah attributed the new-found confidence to the introduction of the Women’s Premier League. Citing the example of 22-year-old pacer Kranti Gaud, who finished as the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series win in England with nine scalps that included a six-wicket haul, she said: “In this team, we see that. We look at Kranti (Gaud), she’s fearless. That attitude is so nice to see that it pushes each one of us.”

Mithali Raj, regarded as one of the gamechangers for women’s cricket in the country, believes the team’s recent string of results puts them in a strong position for the World Cup. ‘’The way the team has been doing over the last one year, not just in ODIs, but in T20Is. A wonderful series in England, beating England in England,’’ an upbeat Mithali added.