The Indian women’s cricket team recently registered their 18th victory in their last 19 One Day Internationals as they handily beat England by 35 runs in their opening match at ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017. Mithali Raj also became the first player in women’s cricket history to hit seven consecutive half-centuries in ODIs.
Mithali Raj has previously played four World Cups. Jhulan Goswami has played three. Riding a wave of records behind them, they now begin what could most likely be their last. Raj is the second highest run scorer in women’s international cricket and is advancing to the record held by England’s Charlotte Edwards with 5,992 runs. Goswami is the backbone of the Indian bowling attack and is the highest wicket-taker in women’s ODI history, newly surpassing Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s mark of 180 wickets. For all that Raj and Goswami have done for Indian women’s cricket, crown or not, they can hold their heads up sky-high. Besides these two most experienced players, the Indian team coached by Tushar Arothe has some big guns in its arsenal with the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Poonam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht, Sushma Verma, Mansi Joshi, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav and Nuzhat Parween.
In England, where the World Cup is currently held, the England Cricket Board (ECB) has done a lot for the development of women’s cricket. Along with exposure to the public, better pay and much-improved standards, women can now genuinely aspire to play cricket for a living and do so in front of decent audiences. The women’s game is now being broadcasted on television, radio and online. More tickets have been sold for the final at Lord’s than any other Women’s World Cup. Women’s cricket is making strides and we need to follow suit here in India as well. It is vital for girls and women who want to play and pursue the game. And for any dinosaurs who think otherwise, simply take a seat and watch a match this World cup.
– Varun Kumar | SpreadSports
