Dubai: India crashed out of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup as New Zealand recorded a resounding 54-run win over Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals for the first time since 2016. New Zealand finished with six points from three wins, ending second behind Australia, who topped the group with eight points.
Electing to bat first, Sophie Devine’s side were shackled by the Pakistan spin attack and grafted their way to a below-par total of 110 for six from 20 overs.
India's hopes depended on Pakistan beating the White Ferns in the match and those hopes had soared when New Zealand were restricted to only 110 after electing to bat first. Chasing a huge net run rate swing, Pakistan folded to 56 all out - the second-lowest all-out total in tournament history - as they finished second in Group A.
Openers Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer got off to an excellent start, guiding the White Ferns to 39 without loss from the powerplay.
Bates ticked along at a run-a-ball throughout the first six overs but rode her luck in doing so, surviving an LBW review in the first over and gaining a lifeline when she was dropped at midwicket on 20.
Eventually, the aggressive instincts of 20-year-old Plimmer got the better of her when she charged at Nashra Sandhu and skied one to Fatima Sana on 17. Pakistan established a vice-like grip on the contest through miserly spells from spinners Nashra and Omaima Sohail, with New Zealand going a full 54 balls without hitting a boundary.
Nashra once again induced a rash stroke from a Kiwi opener, with Bates spooning a high catch to Nida Dar at long-on to make it 50 for two. Amelia Kerr never got going and Omaima nabbed her first wicket when Kerr picked out Fatima to depart for nine runs from 17 balls. Nida and teenager Syeda Aroob Shah continued the squeeze, but Brooke Halliday peeled off two fours in the 15th over to give New Zealand's innings much-needed impetus.
Pakistan were left to rue a couple of dropped catches as Halliday and captain Sophie Devine built a patient partnership, with the pair dismissed in successive balls at 96 for five. New Zealand took advantage of further missed chances as Maddy Green and Isabella Gaze grafted their way to a competitive score.
With Pakistan’s highest opening partnership in the tournament totalling 13, Aliya Riaz was promoted from her usual pinch-hitting role to replace Gull Feroza at the top of the order. Pakistan needed to reach their target in 10.4 overs to secure an unlikely spot in the knockout stages. The experiment did not pay off and Devine’s decision to open with spinner Eden Carson was rewarded when Aliya steered a catch to the skipper at mid-on.
What went wrong with India at women’s T20 WC?New Delhi: A lot of preparatory work was put in by the Indian team think-tank in enhancing the fitness and fielding departments ahead of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE. But it did not produce the desired results, as India once again was found lacking in these departments. In the T20 World Cup, where India made a group-stage exit, they dropped nine catches in four games, apart from misfields galore. Richa Ghosh was also not at her sharpest best as a wicketkeeper, and gave away lots of byes too. Seeing the fluctuating standard of fitness and fielding for the umpteenth time in a world event left former India captain Anjum Chopra unimpressed. “For last 35 years, I've been hearing this fitness and fielding (is a work in progress). If you've not improved this as of now, then I don't know who needs to be questioned and how we need to address this because when I came into this Indian setup, when we were obviously not under the BCCI, we used to say, ‘Oh, we've got limited facilities and we are still improving our fitness and fielding’. Again, we are hearing that we are having a fitness and fielding camp (before the World Cup).” “Aren't they supposed to be in a given scenario that once you've an elite sportsperson, you're supposed to be working on your fitness? Isn't it a given that you have to be a good fielder? Isn't it a given that you have to pass those fitness tests? If we have to still focus on it, I understand you can focus on it, batting, bowling, fielding, everything, and all around development.” “But if I'm hearing the same lines, which was probably when I was a youngster coming into the team till the time I played and still I'm hearing those same lines, which definitely goes on to show that, you don't come into an Indian setup and become a fit cricketer,” said Anjum. She also thinks the onus is on players to become better in fitness and fielding when they become a part of the Indian team. The 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup also marked just the fourth instance of an Asian team not entering the knockout stages after 2012, 2014 and 2016 editions of the competition. Anjum questioned if the Asian teams are doing the right things and putting in enough efforts to challenge other nations. |
