World Cup: This time for Indian women?

Bengaluru: One World Cup victory is all it takes for greatness to be achieved and legacies to be defined and built. 

Over the next four weeks, eight teams will be on the precipice of realising a similar dream, in a tournament that has seen defending champions stumble, strong contenders implode, dark horses punch above their weight and power-packed teams run out of steam. 

And for about two weeks now, the hype-masters have asked one question: Can India finally break the 47-year jinx?

“It’s not about breaking the jinx,” former India cricketer and 2005 World Cup finalist Anjum Chopra tells DHoS. 

“Every team gets into the tournament to win. All eight teams will look to win. It’s about understanding the job at hand on that certain day. It is a game where you have to go out there, compete and win each day. And every game, you start from zero. It’s a process.”

India have been perennially a solid unit in all formats. They have wins against all opposition, both at home and on foreign shores. Their arsenal has been stacked with some of the finest talents the game has seen. And yet, their ICC trophy cabinet continues to echo emptiness like a month-end bank balance. 

The Indian side has a not-so great habit of crumbling at the knockout stages. They have done so two times in ODI World Cups and once in a T20 World Cup. 

And if you thought they did better at home, think again. All three of the ODI World Cups as hosts (1978, 1997 and 2013) and their best result is making a semifinal in 1997. They did not win a game in 1978 and failed to qualify for the Super Six stage in 2013. 

And a large part of the failures surrounding India can be put down to a simple factor: crumbling under pressure.  

But the scenario is very different this time around and the team is tuned well with experienced players, highlights Chopra. 

“The fact that Smriti (Mandhana), Harman (Kaur) and Deepti (Sharma) have been part of finals, even Harleen (Deol) and Jemimah Rodrigues have been around for a while. This bunch has played together and most of them have been in situations that demand extra as an individual, which helps in big tournaments,” the 48-year-old added. 

For all the instant admiration and the jubilation around India’s first ODI World Cup final in 2005 in Centurion, there was only one team that looked like winning. 

While the second final, 12 years later in 2017 on English soil, was uplifting, the tournament still finished with more questions than answers. 

However, there’s an air of confidence surrounding this team, which is also the most settled Indian unit to come into an ODI World Cup. The same was showcased when they gave defending and seven-time winners Australia a run for their money in a 2-1 series loss. 

“Most of them have grown in their roles and the strength remains that they are better tuned to handle those pressure situations,” she added.

While the images of their World Cup history have not been a pretty viewing, it presents an excellent opportunity for India to reverse the trend and go from a top side to a top of the world unit, with the 13th edition of the tournament starting on September 30. The task, though, won’t be an easy one.

Word spreads fast when you’re in a home World Cup. And it spreads faster when 1.4 billion are expecting you to win. 

The Indian crowds don’t accept anything other than trophies. While the team will have to try not to let expectations get into their heads, it will still be difficult not to be the centre of attention in the lead-up to the tournament. 

However, Chopra feels that it’s all part and parcel of the job and that’s why the best get picked to represent the country. 

“It’s their job to handle the expectations. A home World Cup comes for almost every nation; the expectations will be there, it’s a part and parcel of the game. You’re picked to play for India to handle pressure and play to your strengths.”

India are among the most complete teams at the moment in women’s cricket. They are the No.3 ODI side, have a settled and fine-tuned batting line-up, a world-class spin attack and the Mandhana factor. 

Since the 2022 edition, Smriti has scored 2100 runs at an average of 58.33, having made eight hundreds. With her new partner in Pratika Rawal and the omission of Shafali Verma, she has fluently transformed into an aggressor’s role.

While there are positives, India also have been reckless, complacent and have gone down to average opponents. 

Come Tuesday, in Guwahati, when they flip the coin on a new campaign, they will look to change the narrative. 

“The first game is important. If you start well, it can set a nice tone. However, even if you don’t start well, it’s not the end of the world, you have opportunities to come back. It’s just a game. Yes, first games are important but it’s not the only thing in a long tournament like this.”

While the Indian squad reflected the faith of the team management in its spinners, Chopra made it clear that the conditions in different venues will influence the final team combination. 

“Every team is different. You pick a team based on form and availability. Spin will play a part. How much, that remains to be seen. India boast good cricketing wickets and surfaces that are good for strokeplay. Conditions will demand how you pick the players, and with spinners, India will benefit from the experience.”

However, she felt that the hosts were a little too spin-heavy with Deepti, Sneh Rana, Sri Charani and Radha Yadav in the squad. 

“I feel you can’t have four spinners playing in the team together. It depends on how the side picks the combination; ideally, you require six bowling options to have a bit of variety in the attack,” Chopra concluded. 

India have a job at hand. For it to go from an expectation to reality, they will have to rise above their ordinary self at ICC events. On many occasions, they have been unrecognisable under pressure. This Indian side, however, might just buck the trend by becoming the first team to win a women’s World Cup. 

India in ODI World Cups

1973 DNP

1978 Fourth

1982 Fifth

1988 DNP

1993 Fourth

1997 Semifinal

2000 Semifinal

2005 Final

2009 Third

2013 Group Stage

2017 Final

2022 Fifth