da doce： And that was the way the cookie crumbled
Shantha Rangaswamy20-Dec-2000And that was the way the cookie crumbled! The Indian resistance just fizzled outagainst New Zealand in the second semi-final of the CricInfo Women’s World Cupwhen they were comprehensively beaten by a big margin of nine wickets. And itwas not the margin of defeat but the manner in which it was engineered that gavethe impression that India was totally outplayed in all departments of the game;just like Australia swept aside the South African challenge in the first semifinal in exactly the same fashion and the same margin.The planning was made but it needed proper execution. The Indians, batting firston winning the toss, opened with Smitha Harikrishna and Purnima Rau, this beingthe first time ever they batted in tandem. They gave India a good start butthings went awry with the exit of Smitha, brilliantly caught at square leg whiletrying to pull. The immediate loss of Kaul and Chopra, both for no scores, putthe Indians on the back foot from which they could never extricate themselves.Kaul and Chopra were the two main run getters for India in the tournament andtheir dismissals dealt the team a severe blow.The aftermath of this was that Purnima, sent to open the batting to clear theinfielders and use the first 15 overs, played the sheet anchor role and herinnings eventually was the only one of substance from the Indians. Anju Jain,the Indian captain, appeared to be the most compact of the Indian batsmen butjust when it looked that a rescue act was on, she was run out. And with thatreceded India’s chances of putting up a respectable total.Purnima played an innings uncharacteristic of her and when it was essential forher to take the initiative and protect the tail-enders, she failed to do so. Theinnings revolved round her and she carried her bat through for a well-compiled67 off 133 balls but it was not the best innings I have seen of her. India didnot play out the stipulated 50 overs and crumbled in the 46th over with Purnimastranded without any partners.With just 117 runs to defend, it was just a matter of time before the Kiwisoverhauled the Indian score. And they did it in great fashion. The Indians wereleft with no option but to attack and they tried but to no avail. O’Leary andDrumm made the attack look ragged when they took just 26.5 overs to rattle upthe required runs.Jain tried various options to dislodge the partnership but couldn’t succeed.Though the Indians lost, they have advanced to the third position, which iscreditable by itself. It is time to look ahead and plan for the future – thenext World Cup which is to be held in South Africa early 2005. And thepreparation has to commence from now in right earnest.There is a dire need to have a re-look into the domestic structure where thereis not much of opposition to the top teams. The emphasis will have to be laid onfitness, which includes fielding and running between wickets, and betteropposition for the top teams by making the Rani Jhansi Inter zonal tournament afive-team affair with all the cricketers playing for the five zones based ontheir place of domicile instead of playing for their institutions. But then thisneeds to be examined back home and not here. The Indian team may bedisappointed, as most well wishers are, but if they have learnt something out ofthe mistakes and by watching the Aussies and the Kiwis, just that would mean agreat deal for Indian cricket.