Indian women revolutionise gentleman's game

Last night, the Indian women's cricket team lifted the World Cup for the first time in history at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai. The heartbreak in 2005 and the late stumble of 2017 became things of the past on Sunday night. Harmanpreet Kaur and her team cruised into the finals and lifted their maiden ICC trophy, which had eluded the women’s team for so long. This victory is also a declaration that cricket is not just a gentleman’s but everyone’s sport. Despite the favourable factor of the tournament being held on home turf, India’s journey was no less difficult.

After defeating Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the preliminary round, the Blues came under pressure after losing to Australia, South Africa and England. The win against New Zealand put the women's team back on track. India's best win in this World Cup was in the semi-final against Australia. In the group round, Aussies chased a gargantuan total crossing 300 set by India, showing how lethal they were when it came to showing class. However, the semifinals put out a different script.

The semi-final victory was solely due to the determination of 25-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues and the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur. Jemimah was dropped from one match due to her poor form in the preliminary round. When she was brought back into the field, the coach asked her to bat in the first down position. Jemimah then started talking to her critics with the bat.

Jemimah, who led the battle with strength and care at every step, scored a legendary century that will be remembered forever. Despite losing to South Africa in the group round, Harmanpreet Kaur showed the body language of a winner from the toss in Mumbai to the moment she caught Nadine de Klerk's soaring shot. Every player stood firm in their determination not to give up. It should be known that Shafali Verma, who shone both with bat and bowl in the final, was not included in the World Cup team. She came in as a substitute from the semi-finals of the tournament. Deepti Sharma, who excelled with both bat and ball throughout the tournament, was awarded the Player of the Tournament award.

Before the final, Harmanpreet expressed her wish to know about the joy of victory. The tears of joy came aplenty when Kaur was seen handing over the trophy to erstwhile greats Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Anjum Chopra.