Patriarchy To Be Shattered As Indian & English Ladies Take Ground At Lords For The Title Today

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Woman World Cup

It took 24 years for another Indian national team to take ground at the Mecca of cricket, Lords, to play for the title of the world champion. Resembling the pattern of the meteoric rise of Kapil Dev’s men in the summer of 1983, the girls’ brigade led by Mithali Raj has stunned one and all to reach the final of the ICC Women World Cup final which is all set to be played today at the heart of London.

Despite the batting heroics of skipper Raj, openers Poonam Raut and Smriti Mandana and middle order sensation Veda Krishnamurthy along with the magical bowling of Rajeshwari Gayawak, Deepti Sharma and Jhulan Goswami which ensured 4 straight victories against hosts England, T20 champions West Indies, arch rivals Pakistan and island neighbours Sri Lanka, the patriarchal society back home never bothered to pay much attention to the stupendous efforts that were being displayed by 11 brave tigresses who were simply written off even before the tourney started.

Whatever little TRP Star India acquired in the country of 1.3 billion by telecasting the tournament was almost washed away when India back to back matches against the Proteas and the Aussies.

Even the do or die match against New Zealand, which India won handsomely, failed to make headlines. But now, be it the social media or its mainstream counterpart, Indian women’s cricket team is the topic of discussion everywhere, thanks to Harmanpreet Kaur’s Herculean innings of 171 from 115 in the semi-final at Derby against Meg Lanning’s Australia.

The match, which is scheduled to start at 3 pm IST, will not provide the English ladies absolute home advantage, thanks to male dominance once again. Although the men play regularly, the women team of Middlesex county has never played a game in Lords. In fact, Marylebone Cricket Club, which has now allowed the Bharat army to carry a dhol into the stands, for more than 200 years rejected women membership!

The current English squad comprises of 7 players who have played in this ground before and as far as the Indian team is concerned, there are 6 ladies who have previously experienced the grandeur of Lords.

As no one in the cricketing fraternity can now say that the Indians are underdogs, the result of this final will be hard to predict as the English team also possess similar weapons in their armoury. Tammy Beaumont requires 18 runs to become the tourney’s highest run getter while Indian skipper Mithali Raj needs 13 more to equal Ellyse Perry’s tally of 404.

For Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, both 34 now, this could well be their last appearance in Indian colours and keep no doubt, they will give more than their best to bring the cup home as it will not only lift the status of women’s cricket but at the same time will be a tight slap on the face for those who have treated women as ‘second class’ citizens.

A confident Mithali observed, “There might be a lot of changes back home if we go on to win the World Cup. This platform and this win will definitely give that edge for young girls to take up sport back home. Maybe, you never know, women’s IPL might be in the pipeline.”

 

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