India will look at the ICC Women’s World Cup to be held in New Zealand in March-April with an optimistic view. To begin with, it will play Pakistan, against whom it enjoys a ten-nil record in One Day Internationals with the first match played in Karachi in December 2005 and the tenth match in Derby in July 2017’s World Cup match.
All victories have been convincing runs or wickets. So the team led by Mithali Raj (who is in her 40th year and has led India in the first three World Cups) will take all the beliefs of the past and face their Asian rival, especially because it has given them 10 wickets, six wicket and scored 95 runs in three World Cup matches in Boral, Australia in 2009, at Cuttack in 2013 and in the Derby four years ago.
India will play Pakistan on March 6 at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, Tauranga. Another factor that will encourage the Indian team is that it has played a match at the Bay Oval and defeated the home team New Zealand by eight wickets.
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India’s other league matches are against New Zealand (March 10) and West Indies (March 12) at Seddon Park, Hamilton, England (March 16) at Bay Oval, Australia (March 19) at Eden Park, Auckland, Bangladesh. (22 March) at Seddon Park and Hagley Oval, Christchurch in South Africa (27 March). While India has lost to Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, West Indies, it has not lost to Bangladesh.
As always India are considered one of the favourites, in recent times owing to the individual prowess of stroke players like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur and the collective ambition of the team to better themselves in bilateral series and ICC events.
India have won 34 of the 63 World Cup matches they have played since 1978, with a win percentage of 53.97 not a great record to speak of, but the fact showed with some big performances in the 2017 competition when it lost to England . A nine-run final at Lord’s and Harmanpreet’s unbeaten 171 off 115 balls changed the game with 20 x 4s and 7 x 6s, leaving a handful of other favorites to see it as a potential World Cup winner in New Zealand.
The BCCI’s Women’s Selection Committee has selected the Indian squad and standby for the ICC event and also includes a Twenty20 International and five limited-overs matches against New Zealand in a white-ball series. Changes can be made in the team till 24 February.
As soon as BCCI announced the squad, last World Cup star Poonam Raut expressed her dismay via her Twitter handle @raut_punam saying: “Regarded as a seasoned batsman and consistent run scorer for India. Yes, I am extremely disappointed to not be part of the World Cup squad. In 2021, I averaged 73.75 with 295 runs, which included a century and two half-centuries in the six ODIs I played. It is very disappointing to be constantly out even after performing. Having said that, I would like to extend my best wishes to all the players who will represent India.
Mumbai-based Punam has played three World Cups (one match in 2009, four in 2013 and nine in 2017) and scored 466 runs, most of them (381 at 42.33 in 2017). He also scored a century (106 against Australia in Bristol). Overall, he has played 73 matches, scoring 2299 runs with 3 x 100 and 15 x 50 with strike rates of 34.83 and 58.26.
Poonam has scored 1657 runs in 54 innings as an opener and 610 runs in 17 innings at number three. He has every reason to be disappointed as 2021 was his best in international cricket, scoring 298 runs in 428 balls at a scoring rate of 4.14 per over with a century and two half-centuries. His previous best performance was in 2017 when he scored 653 runs in 914 balls at 4.29 per over. Punam is also India’s third highest run-scorer since January 2019 (14 matches, 602 runs).
Former India coach Tushar Arothe believes that India need to score runs on the board. He said, ‘He has to score 250/260 runs in a row. But I think India will start well against Pakistan. No match in the World Cup will be easy and hence India will have to compete,” he said while talking about India’s prospects in New Zealand.
Arothe felt that Poonam deserved a place in the team. ,
“2021 was his best year, and he hasn’t been selected. I’m sorry for that. She has been one of India’s better players in the 50-over format. She has been consistent, not even Herman. He did very well in the 2017 World Cup as well. They should have considered Poonam as an opener. They should have picked Jemima (Rodrigues) as well. He didn’t score runs in the last four or five ODIs. Why does this (lack of form) only apply to Jemima and not others? Jemima is a great player. She is always in the game; She saves five to ten runs in every match. She did well in The Hundred in England (and the Women’s BBL in Australia). No one can judge a player of Jemima’s potential on the basis of five ODIs (22 runs against South Africa and England). And to be honest, Shikha Pandey (55 matches, 75 wickets at 21.92) should have been there too. Apart from Jhulan Goswami, Shikha is very experienced. It’s a World Cup, and he should have been picked.”
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Speaking on World Cup preparations, Arothe said: “BCCI is doing a fantastic job, the team went to England for the entire series and Australia last year. Now the team will play five ODIs against New Zealand before the start in March. And most of them played in The Hundred and Women’s Big Bash.
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