Women's World T20 2018: Swinging between excellence and atrocity, India search for elusive equilibrium

On Sunday, India registered a comfortable seven-wicket win over Pakistan in their second Group B match of the 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 at Providence Stadium in Guyana. On paper, it was a complete performance — contributions from the bowlers, a couple of run outs indicating brilliance in the field, and a solid batting performance. In fact, the match both started and ended with emphatic statements from India — a wicket-maiden, courtesy Arundhati Reddy, and a cleanly struck boundary off the bat of Veda Krishnamurthy — but it was the period in between that was largely disappointing. [caption id=“attachment_5535791” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Indian players celebrate a Pakistan wicket during their World T20 match in Guyana. ICC[/caption] In sport, momentum shifts are hard to explain. There is very rarely a direct cause-effect relationship between events. Seemingly mundane moments in a game, like a bowler missing a stride in the run up, or a batter changing a certain movement at the crease can in hindsight, lead to a change in the player’s rhythm which in turn leads to a change in the course of the game. India’s win over Pakistan was largely a story of three parts: excellence, atrocity and a return to equilibrium. The excellence was on display in the very first over of the day — Reddy, India’s lone pacer, dismissing Ayesha Zafar, beautifully caught at slip by a diving Krishnamurthy. Through the Powerplay India were enthusiastic and energetic in the field — moving fluidly, quick on to the ball and very vocal. In the fourth over, Jemimah Rodrigues threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end to run out the promising Omaima Sohail. The 18-year-old came bounding in off the inner circle when she saw the batswomen take off for a quick run, and in a single motion picked up the ball and hit the stumps at the far end. Soon after, Radha Yadav made sure Smriti Mandhana’s drop at mid-on would not prove costly, and run out Javeria Khan for 17. In 6.2 overs India had Pakistan stuttering at 30 for 3. They had the upper hand and were playing with an intensity that is not usually associated with Asian teams. The entry of Nida Dar, however, swung the momentum in Pakistan’s favour. Dar was very proactive against India’s spinners, using her feet to get to the pitch of the ball, or hanging back to hit square of the wicket. Her positive intent rubbed off on Bismah Maroof as the two slowly began to stitch together an important partnership. India went from excellent to atrocious in the space of a couple of overs. After having dominated the Powerplay, the Indian team dropped three straightforward catches and ran away from a fourth. Balls were tunnelled, others were fumbled and suddenly it seemed India’s energy had been sapped. Dar, who had the happy knack of finding the boundary late in the over, and Maroof brought up their half-centuries to guide Pakistan to their highest total in the World T20s — 133 for seven. If it wasn’t for two five-run penalties awarded to India because the Pakistan batswomen were found to be continually running on the danger area, it may have been a competitive total. Pakistan’s implosion in the last two overs meant the momentum had swinging back. After all the hullabaloo during India’s stint in the field — the dropped catches, misfields and five-run penalties — Mithali Raj’s entry as opener seemed to restore a sense of calm to the match: the return to equilibrium. As has been her habit for so many years, the 35-year-old guided the Indian team home with a masterful half-century. She shared an important 73-run opening stand with Mandhana who scored an uncharacteristically slow 26 — only her third double-digit score in the last 10 matches. Raj danced her way into perfect positions against the spinners to pierce the off-side field. Her timing was immaculate, as she barely broke a sweat through her 47-ball knock. Rodrigues, who has taken to international cricket like a fish to water, batted confidently for her 16, while Harmanpreet Kaur’s finesse was also on display as India got home with six balls to spare. *** Over the last few months, the Indian team have shown that they want to play an attacking brand of cricket. They have unearthed young players like Rodrigues, Pooja Vastrakar, Taniya Bhatia and Hemalatha Dayalan who are confident, fearless and willing to take the attack to the opposition. It is an attitude that has allowed the likes of Mandhana and Kaur to play in their more naturally free-flowing style. Add Raj, who works almost as the team’s insurance policy, to the mix, and the Indian team have the potential to challenge (and beat) the very best in the world. The bowling attack too has shown much promise. The ever-reliable Poonam Yadav, India’s most successful T20I bowler, supported by Deepti Sharma, Hemalatha, Radha and Reddy pose a tricky threat. With Ekta Bisht, Anuja Patil, Vastrakar and Mansi Joshi sitting on the bench, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Shikha Pandey waiting in the wings to make a comeback, the Indian team is in good shape — competition for places keeping everyone on their toes. With two wins out of two, India now have one foot firmly in the semi-final. Barring a huge upset, they will, for the first time since 2010, make their way to the knockout stage of the tournament in Antigua. Although India’s wins have been quite convincing — 34 runs against New Zealand and a seven-wicket win over Pakistan— their performances have been far from complete. In both matches, they have slipped up at some stage or the other. Against New Zealand, they were inconsistent with the ball, giving the batters a fair few freebies. If it weren’t for Kaur’s century, India would have been under more pressure defending a smaller total. The victory over Pakistan involved some pretty shoddy fielding, but it was the sudden drop in intensity that was more worrying. While India’s lapses in the last two matches have not cost them dearly, they will have to be more careful moving further into the tournament. They can ill afford such mistakes against the better teams, where one missed opportunity could shut the door in their face. The potential of this team is exciting. Not even close to a perfect game and they have quite easily collected four points. Imagine what they will be capable of if all of them pull their weight! Australia are, of course, still favourites thanks to the depth and sheer power in their batting line-up, but India are making a statement of their own — they are building an exciting team for the future, one that has the potential to consistently dominate. But for now, in this tournament, if India want to do more than just threaten the top teams, they will need to find a way to stop swinging between extremes like a pendulum. They must find their equilibrium.