In the last few years, India’s women cricket has grown leaps and bounds. The women have shown some terrific performances, especially in the perennial tournaments. The recently concluded women’s T20 World Cup too was a massive success for Indian cricket.
Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. produced stellar performances to reach in the final of T20 World Cup. The women topped the group stage, not losing a single match until they played Australia in the final.
India’s women’s coach WV Raman lauded India’s performance, saying that their performances will help Indian Women’s cricket scale up to newer heights.
“Their performance has given everyone a lot of confidence and has shown Indian cricket can be a dominant force in the women’s category as well. They are a young side and their performance was important to inspire girls, especially those who are on the threshold of deciding whether to take up women’s cricket as a profession” India’s women’s coach was quoted as saying in TOI.
The women’s team came into the world cup following an inspiring performance in the Tri-Series featuring two other teams in Australia and England. India, however, lost in the finals at the hands of Australia.
“It was a tough tour. People were curious to see how the girls would stand up to the challenge. They came out with flying colours because they didn’t get overawed by stronger opposition. Also, they needed to adapt quickly and change a few things in order to be successful on those tracks, which are completely different from what we get here. They did well on both counts.”
One of the foremost reasons for India’s inspiring performance in the World Cup is Shafali Verma. The 16-year old went hammer and tongs and helped India give a solid start in the power play overs. She was India’s highest run-scorer in the tournament, amassing 163 runs in five matches at an average of 32.60.
Having made such a solid impact at such a small age, Shafali has the whole world ahead of him.
“She is still a child. People may have good intentions when they say a lot of things in her interest, but that is all futile. For now, we must let her be. What is also important for her at this juncture is that she needs to be guided properly by her family. On the field, I think it is best if she is left alone. She’ll work things out as she goes along. She does work on her cricket and she is very intelligent as well.” The coach said.
