At a turning point in their ICC Women’s World Cup campaign, the Indian women’s cricket team visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple at Ujjain to seek blessings ahead of their crucial match against England. Players, under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, participated in the morning Bhasma Aarti and devoted serene moments to prayers in the Nandi Hall.
India’s adventure so far has been one of contrasts from decisive victories over Sri Lanka at Guwahati by 59 runs and over Pakistan at Colombo by a massive 88 runs, to nail-biting defeats at the hands of South Africa and Australia at Vizag by 3 wickets in both the matches.
Those two successive three-wicket defeats have placed the team fourth on the points table with four points from four matches and a net run rate of +0.682. Far from desperate though the situation is, pressure is building up to revive strongly.
India’s semifinal destiny is still in its own hands. A clean sweep of the remaining three matches against England (Indore, Oct 19), New Zealand (Navi Mumbai, Oct 23), and Bangladesh (Navi Mumbai, Oct 26) would ensure qualification to the knockout stage with 10 points. Even two victories could lead them to finish in top 4, but it will be based on Net Run Rate (NRR), while another two defeats could be the curtain call for their campaign.
The bowing strategy of the team trusting five frontline bowlers has been in the spotlight. Both Australia and South Africa used India’s depth of pace to attack inexperienced pacers Amanjot Kaur and Kranti Gaud. A sixth bowling option might be in the offing for the England match as the management seeks to enhance balance.
In batting, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana’s glittering 80 off 66 balls against Australia was a testament to India’s top-order firepower. Head coach Amol Muzumdar is still satisfied with the team structure, asserting, “I think we have got a very settled batting lineup.
“Would not like to shuffle it around too much, but when the need arises, we are flexible. We do have that luxury of sending Richa in, and at times Deepti Sharma can give us the option of a left-hander as well as a player who grinds and gets singles easily. But I would not like to tinker too much with the batting lineup.”
The squad is also conscious of keeping their NRR in check, especially during the last league fixture against Bangladesh a possible decider that echoes the agony at Christchurch 2022, when a loss to South Africa brought India’s journey to an abrupt end and Mithali Raj’s meritorious career also ended after that.
For now, it is a shift to Indore and a new beginning in the spirit of faith, harmony, and belief. As the players emerged from the temple at dawn, the atmosphere was one of subdued hope that blessings and form come in tandem when India take on England on October 19.
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