India has been dominating the cricketing arena as the new century matures. This has been consistent in all forms of the game. The men have realized new heights under M. S. Dhoni and Kohli. Under 19 team have established themselves as a force to reckon. The women, on the other hand, have emerged as contenders in all world events.
Domestic and multilateral dimensions of the game have undergone an overhaul with competition like never. These changes have been driven by the might of specific skillsets. Indian men under Dhoni relied heavily on the spin trajectory. The fierce pace attack led by Bumrah and others has assisted Kohli’s domination. Moreover, this pattern has been widespread in all successful teams. One department from the team rises above rest and delivers something extraordinary.
The legendary players are born in this manner. Their career kickstarts in adverse times and they leave with praises all around. Interestingly, such stories have now emerged around the Indian women’s cricket team. It is being said that they are over dependant on spin and Shafali.
This is, perhaps, the talks regarding the Harmanpreet led the Indian women’s side. The team has successfully passed all challenges in the ongoing league stage of the T20 world cup and looks comfortable for the final face-offs. The victory has revolved around the spinner who have webbed the oppositions to a net of slow, yet effective, craftmanship.
Poonam Yadav along with her partners Radha and Deepti have taken teams by storm. Indian slow ball attack in the middle phase of the game warrants skills of a sub-continent sort. A relaxed, yet mindful temperament, and a soft wrist workaround the corners could have helped players from Australia and New Zealand who had no answers to the slow turners. Further, the skill of the Indian attack came shining against teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who are facing spins in their backyards.
Accompanied by the superb spells for Radha and Poonam, the pace attack of the team gets unnoticed to a great extent. They have not clocked their best which a stage like this would demand.
This, however, will be on the backs of their mind and it is expected that they realize that their services may be vital at crucial stages when spin falls insufficient. In the batting order, Shafali has modeled herself upon Virender Sehwag of good old days. A woman encounter sees nearly 4 average sixes by both teams, but Shafali swings her bat to smash 4 sixes in one inning. Her ruthless approach in the powerplays has given India flyer starts which lays a smooth ground for chases to take place. However, it gets tougher to imagine India cruising without her stints.
Nonetheless, Harmanpreet who is known for clean hitting has shown positive signs in the match against Sri Lanka and can be of great worth when the team needs her to strike clean. It will be false to assume that India has relied heavily on spinners and Shafali as the team has experienced players who will know how to maneuver the players.
It can be credited to the skipper and management for giving a free hand to a teen opener. Spinners from India are winning hearts at pitches where pacers enjoyed the bounce. However, the team shall learn from the past and look forward to keeping all options in their best health and form as Indian women and men’s team have time and again fallen in knock-outs.
The team shall not revolve around Shafali and spinners. The strategy and the plan shall not change drastically to fit in the present form. Skipper has to make sure that she has the backing of a plan B which comes when the pillars fail.
A student who enjoys studying cricket more than anything else, keen to learn the insights of the women’s game.