Let us take a look at the previous T20 World Cup encounters:
2009:
In the year 2009, the women’s cricket was finally ready to play the fast version of the game.
Indian Squad for the tournament was :
Jhulan Gowsami(C) , Amita Sharma, Anjum Chopra, Anagha Deshpande (wk), Rumeli Dhar, Harmanpreet Kaur, Latika Kumari, Reema malhotra, Babita Nandik, Sulakshana naik , Mithali Raj, Priyanka Roy, Punam Raut, Gouher Sultana
India played their first match against the host England and they were completely outplayed by them as they chased down 113 runs target easily in 15.4 overs without losing a wicket. This stage was ready to witness the rivalry between India and Pakistan. In a must win encounter India bowled them out on 75 (where Priyanka Roy took 5/16) and with the help of Anjum Chopra’s 37* the target was chased down.
The last group match was against Sri lanka, the game was reduced to 18 overs due to rain and Sri lanka posted 94 runs on the board which was a easy chase for the Indians (Mithali Raj 32*). The Semifinal was set against Group A winner New Zealand. Kiwis batted first and put 145 runs on the board which was a great score in a knockout match and proved so as India only managed to reach 93 runs.
This ended the run of Indian team in the inaugural T20 world cup.
Also read : Ace bowler Jhulan Goswami announces her retirement from T20 internationals
2010:
The Squad for the tournament was:
Jhulan(c), Soniya Dabir, Anagha deshpande, Harmanpreet Kaur, S Naik, Punam Raut , Amrita Sharma, Gouher Sultana, Anjum Chopra, Diana David, Rumeli Dhar, Reema Malhotra, Mithali Raj, Priyanka Roy.
India went to West Indies this time around to better their last time performance in the T20 World cup. They were grouped with New Zealand , Sri lanka and Pakistan. Things didn’t went the way Indian team planned in their very first match. New Zealand made 139 runs (Diana David 4/27) which was a chasable target but Indian team got into pressure in the end and was restricted to 129 runs after a great start given by Mithali Raj who made 44 runs.
The subsequent match was against the arch rival Pakistan which was a cakewalk for the team , they chased down 105 runs target in just 16.4 overs with 9 wickets in hand . The top order did the work where Poonam Raut made 54*(54) and Mithali Raj came with 33*(28).
Sri lanka didn’t troubled the Indian team in the last group match . India made 144 runs and restricted Sri lanka to 73 only.
In the Semifinal against the Aussies , India batted first and just made 119 runs because of slow show of the top order batswomen. Australia reached the target easily with help of Blackwell’s 61.
So once again the India’s run ended in Semi’s , they played much better cricket than the last time around but that wasn’t enough to reach the Finals.
India’s Diana David was highest wicket taker in the tournament with 9 wickets.
Also Read : Squad Analysis – India Women’s tour of Sri Lanka for 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is
2012:
Squad :
Mithali Raj (C), Ekta Bisht , Jhulan Gowswami , Mona Meshram, Niranjana Nagarajan, Anuja Patil, Amrita Sharma, Archan Das, Reema malhotra, S Naik, P Raut, Subhlakshi Sharma, R Parwin.
For the first time the T20 world cup was held in the subcontinent .India was drawn in a tough group with Australia and England.
The First match was against the stronger Australian Side who chased down 105 runs easily in 17.2 overs . The confidence was low, the next match was also against a superior England side and the result was same. England restricted India to 116 runs (Punam Raut 51 ) and reached the target in 17.1 overs. As a result India failed to qualify for the Semifinals for the first time.
The last match was not of much importance but since it was against the rival Pakistan, both the teams were ready to give everything they had.
The match went to the last ball and unfortunately India lost by 1 run. The target wasn’t large but still they crumbles under pressure , wicket kept felling at regular intervals and in the end they were the losing side once again.
The tournament was nothing less than a nightmare for the Indian team.
2014:
Squad: Mithali Raj (C), Harmanpreet Kaur, Soniya Dabir, Jhulan Gowswami, Latika Kumari, Smriti Mandhana, Shikha Pandey, Madhuri Mehta, Subhlakshmi Sharma, Gouher Sultana , V Vanitha, Poonam Yadav , Karu Jain (wk).
In this edition of the cup, India was placed in much better group.
The first match which was supposed to be an easy one but wasn’t so, the Sri Lankan team put a decent target of 128 runs which proved enough for the Indians. The start wasn’t good by the Indian top order {Mandhana 9(8), PG Raut 9(11) , Mithali 16(28)} and the rest struggled to get the total.
Which makes Five loses in last Five matches in the World cups.
Up next was England and the string of defeats continue and India even failed to reach 3 digits while batting first. With lost hopes of reaching the last 4 , India won their last 2 matches of the group , crushed poor Bangladeshi side and a better West Indies team . Crucial innings came from Mithali Raj in both the matches { 41(38) against Bangladesh and 55(52) against WI}.
In order to avoid relegation to the 2016 World Cup Qualifiers India played Pakistan and once again both the teams put good show for the audience in a low scoring thriller as India won by 6 runs. So India ended the tournament on a good note.
Also Read : A statistical report on Indian women’s test cricket
2016:
Squad: Mithali Raj(C), Jhulan Gowswami, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Thirush Kamini, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Smriti Mandana, Niranjana Nagarjuna, Shikha Pandey, Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma, V Vanita, Sushma Verma, Poonam Yadav.
Being a host, hopes were high from the Indian team and they started their campaign with dominant performance against neighbour Bangladesh.
Second match was against the competitor Pakistan and once again both played a thriller match where Pakistan came victorious by 2 runs (by DLS method) with the luck on their side.
India fought valiantly in the next match versus England but fall apart in the dying moments and fell 2 runs short of 93 runs target. ( Ekta Bisht took 4 wickets in the match). The last match was a Do or Die encounter between India and West Indies. West Indies batted first and managed 114 runs with help of their captain Stefanie Taylor’s 47 runs ( Harmanpreet Kaur 23/4 ) and once again the young Indian side failed to soak up pressure and found themselves 3 runs short in the end and were knocked out of the tournament.
Overall Indian were competitive in all their matches but the inexperience in the squad proved costly.
Post the success in Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017, all eyes are on Mithali’s Team India for their upcoming T20 World Cup Campaign. Can they do it this time? Comment below.