Was I sad and heartbroken Australia didn't make it into the finals? Yes I was so very much, but the pain was lessened by me being in meetings for the greater part of the semi-finals. Not to mention, the final result was closer than I initially thought it was going to be.
It was a slow measured final at Lord's on Sunday 23rd July, 2017. with England batting first. The main points of interest from England's innings were their Captain Heather Knight being out for one, Natalie Sciver hitting England's only half century (51) and no sixes were able to be hit by the English batters.
Jhulan Goswami of India had the eye-catching figures of 10 overs, 3 maidens, 3 wickets for 23 runs, the standout bowler in an ok-ish effort by India.
India's innings in comparison to England's started off with a clatter of the stumps of Smriti Mandhana. Having made 36 runs in 6 matches before today's final, India reluctantly did not make the hard call of dropping her since she was woefully out of form. She had made 90 and 106 not out in the first two matches of the world cup and she was again picked in today's final based on that, sadly it was not meant to be for her and she made 0 from 4 balls, as ESPN Cricinfo puts it - "a World Cup that began with promise has ended in a whimper".
Next up, Mithali Raj, India's captain and talisman, with the most confusing and lazy running I have ever seen in a world cup final, men's or women's, so at the 12.1 over mark she was run out not even making an attempt to stretch or dive into the crease. I mean, if she had an injury why did she not indicate as such to her partner and no sharp singles would've been taken? Cricinfo's commentary sums up the debacle nicely "absolute hara-kiri. What is happening? Mithali has been run-out. What's bizarre is she gave up halfway through the run. Raut nudged this towards short mid-wicket and took off. Mithali responded for the single, which is why it was all the more astonishing that she didn't even try to dive."
India started to consolidate at this point and Punam Raut and Harmanpreet Kaur took them to 182/3 from 42 overs with Harmanpreet Kaur getting out at 138/3. You would think that 47 runs from 8 overs with 7 wickets in hand would be India's game in any scenario, but the 43rd over started an implosion of 7 wickets for 28 runs in 36 deliveries. Shocking to say the least.
Anya Shrubsole bowling amazingly well picked up 6 wickets for 46 runs in 9.4 overs to set off celebrations for the England women's cricket team for the 4th time as World Cup Champions. The only other time a team other than England or Australia won the World Cup was in 2000 by New Zealand. The dominance has been unbelievable by the two powerhouses and it was a day that India should've won but for two regrettable choices, Smriti Mandhana's selection and Mithali Raj's running.
A day of if only...
From ESPN Cricinfo
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