Sakshi Jain
We already know that apart from good air, our country breathes and lives on cricket! Cricket is omnipresent – a walk down from our homes in the evening and we find children playing cricket or that early Sunday morning when we are in our deep sleep, we hear the roars and cheers of neighbours and families enjoying a good cricket match. Well, there isn’t much to be surprised about the way cricket is loved in our country.
Gully cricket is like everybody’s best childhood memory and the amount of dedication we have, to be involved in the whole process of teams, their performance, selection and a tournament is so much. What gave us women a sense of belongingness to cricket is having a women’s cricket team at the international level. Although there was a time when men had been at the forefront playing this sport, it was in the 1970s that women in India had officially played the game. There is a need to make additions to idioms like “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, it makes Jill nonetheless any the other woman also dull.
The Early Dawn
Most of us wouldn’t be aware that cricket is as old to women as it is to men. The first International women cricket match was played in 1934 and Australia, New Zealand and England were the only nations playing international test till 1960. In the first half of the 1970s, the women cricket team for India was mushrooming, and it played its first international in 1976 against West Indies. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is now the governing body of Women’s cricket team.
Over the years, cricket has been shaped with better infrastructure and facilities to ensure better performance from the players. The focus on fitness as one of the prime contributors to performance is the talk of the dressing room. The rise in the number of sponsorships, ad campaigns given to women cricketers along with men are welcoming and also does so much to connect the cricketers with their fans.
You really must have missed out on good cricket if you haven’t watched the sensational 214 run marathon of Mithali Raj against England and Jhulan Goswami’s 10/78 bowling haul against England. We now share good records, figures and ranking with the other teams in the world. Thankfully, people now have started to appreciate cricket as a sport and not much for a man or a woman thing. The 2017 finals of the world cup match between India and England, gave Indian women cricket team the much-needed attention and limelight. Over the two years, the team has just evolved with a potential unmatched and are now on their way seeking glory for the nation.
All You Need to Know About the T20 World Cup 2020
This year Australia hosts the ICC T20 women world cup, and our Indian team is set to make its mark. The world cup has started from 21 February 2020 with ten teams participating, divided into Group A and Group B categories. India is placed in Group A along with Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The group B teams are Pakistan, England, West Indies, South Africa and Thailand. The final is scheduled on 8 March 2020 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Well, they say its hard work and persistence that helps do better, and is what gets you success and good performance. The same is what Poonam Yadav is reflecting with her excellent spell taking four wickets which assured India a match win against Australia in the first match of the T20 world cup 2020. Fans were utterly bowled over with the 39 runs put up on board by Shafali Verma, the 16-year-old prodigy in the match against Bangladesh. A row of two wins already by the Indian team is setting our hopes high on these girls to get the cup home. These girls have got a game, and they are here to stay.
India’s Squad for the T20 World Cup
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain)
Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain)
Shafali Verma
Jemimah Rodrigues
Harleen Deol
Deepti Sharma
Veda Krishnamurthy
Richa Ghosh
Tania Bhatia (wicket-keeper)
Poonam Yadav
Radha Yadav
Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Shikha Pandey
Pooja Vastrakar
Arundhati Reddy.
Gear up for the adventure these girls are set to roll in with the smashing sixes, the countless fours, the eye dropping catches. With the nail-biting finishes, this season is just awaiting you with the promise of better cricket and memorable performances. INDW won by 18 runs against Bangladesh in the match held on 24th. Watch at home, have your snacks ready, make space for your family because the game has already begun, and the Women in blue need support from fans back home. Make sure you set your popcorn ready for tomorrows match between India women and New Zealand women.
