Another disappointing conclusion, another failure, and another! Australian women's cricket won the maiden gold medal in the T20 tournament at the current Commonwealth Games 2022, leaving Indian women's cricket on the losing end of another dramatic final. The Women in Blue crumbled from 118/2 to 152 all out, losing the last eight wickets in 34 runs. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur produced a brilliant performance of 65 off 43 on the night of the final, but once her partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues was broken, it was all Australia. In yet another tight game, India came up just short, but they still managed to win a silver medal in the first-ever CWG women's competition.
Shafali Verma smashed a pair of boundaries in the opening over as the Women in Blue quickly reached 12/0 as India got off to a fast start. Smriti Mandhana, who had just completed a rapid half-century in the semifinal match against England, was dismissed by Darcie Brown in the second over of the innings, dealing a severe setback to India. As the team was in danger at 22/2, Shafali also lost her wicket while attempting to attack the off-spinner Ash Gardner.
As the skipper was leading from the front when it meant the most, Harmanpreet raised her fifty.
Jemimah also made a few solid strokes, and India was really cruising when Australia made the decision to intervene in the game. Megan Schutt removed Jemimah after she and the captain had established a 96-run stand. India needed 44 off of 33 balls, but after losing Harmanpreet and Pooja Vastrakar to Gardner in back-to-back deliveries, India had unexpectedly lost three wickets.
Sneha Rana and Deepti Sharma helped India win with a few significant boundaries and five fortunate wide balls, but they were hindered by constant wickets. Yastika Bhatia, the Women in Blue's replacement due to a concussion, gave it her all, but consistent wickets and an increasing run rate hindered her efforts, and ultimately the team fell short by 9 runs.
Harmanpreet said that if she or even Pooja Vastrakar had persevered until the very finish, they would have won the gold medal. However, she added that silver was still a commendable feat and that this team was on the verge of winning the competition, as Meg Lanning had already acknowledged.
"We always make the same errors [with the bat] in major championships; this is something we need to work on. In either the league phase or the bilateral, we don't make these errors. That is causing a blockage in our thinking. I am a person who is constantly wanting to add a batter to the side. We are, unfortunately, working on it. This thing [collapsing] will stop once we get it "After the game, she remarked.
That's all folks,Gratitude for reading!
