T20 World Cup: Did the Women in Blue lose it in the mind again?

There was no twist in the tale in the New Zealand-Pakistan group game on Monday night - which meant it was curtains for Harmanpreet Kaur & Co in the T20 World Cup in the UAE. The writing was on the wall though the moment India lost by an agonising nine runs to Australia on Sunday, which left them hoping for a miraculous Pakistan win in the last of their group games to go through.

The lacklustre show in the desert, which saw India lose two of their four group games at stake, meant it was the first time since 2016 that they failed to reach the semi-finals. Such heartbreaks are not uncommon in sport, but the question that must be gnawing at the minds of those who care is that what has been coming in the way of a team with talent in abundance from lifting a major ICC trophy all these years.

Truth be told, it could be more in the mind than anything else – and this was amply evident in the close defeats at a number of big games over the years, starting with a nine-run loss to England in the 2017 50-overs World Cup final. It’s an issue which the Indian cricket board tried to address this time by seeking psychiatric help during the conditioning camp, but it didn’t reflect in Harmanpreet Kaur’s conservative captaincy nor the archaic brand of cricket they played.

A batting line-up comprising of Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh; a beefed up pace bowling line-up – alongwith the exposure against top tier cricketers in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for two seasons were the right ingredients to fuel expectations among the fans.    

Muzumdar's logic

Speaking after their loss to Australia, coach Amol Muzumdar stated that the reigning champions’ experience got them through. ‘’I think we were in the game right till the last over, just that experience of Australia saw them through,’’ he said after the game. Granted that the six-time champions are a different kettle of fish, but then there was enough wealth of experience among the Women in Blue to make a match of it.

The balance of the team prompted Harmanpreet to call it their ‘best-ever team in a T20 World Cup,’ but it seemed a fear of losing held them back in all matches except the win over Sri Lanka. The much-hyped batting line-up was playing a variety of cricket more suited to the 50-overs format – where Harmanpreet may have been the topscorer with 150 runs from four games, but her intent left a lot to be desired.

Neither was the bowling up to the mark, barring seamer Renuka Singh who ended up with seven wickets. If one thought that the quality spinners in their ranks would put the brakes on the New Zealand and Australia batters in the two key games, they were sadly mistaken.  

In the opening game against New Zealand, India’s fielding was poor as they dropped few chances that allowed the White Ferns to come back into the game. Richa Ghosh struggled behind the wickets whereas catches were also dropped in the outfield – which helped New Zealand post a challenging 160.

This is now the second tournament in a row where they have failed to deliver – with India failing to retain the Asia Cup after losing the final to Sri Lanka. Is it time, then, to bring a change at the helm and take some tough decisions? We will find out soon.