India clinch historic gold in women’s cricket

ZHEJIANG: China, an Olympic powerhouse and global leader in fabricating processors, haven’t somehow been able to replicate that expertise in the game of cricket. Far from embracing it, the response here can be interpreted as cold.The experience at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field – an hour’s drive from Hangzhou’s city centre – on Monday then, was purely South Asian, when barely a handful of local spectators were at hand to witness the final of the Asian Games women’s cricket between India and Sri Lanka.Those who did, however, a smattering of Indians expats who descended at the Pingfeng, were witness to history as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women won their maiden Asian Games gold, defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the final. This was the Indian cricket’s debut at the Games after the BCCI’s had approved their participation in July.The idea may or may not catch on among the Chinese, but the euphoria among the Indian cricketers is bound to be infectious. “We have spoken to the men’s team. We told them that we are bringing the gold; it’s now up to you guys to also bring it,” batter Jemima Rodrigues was heard urging the Indian men to emulate them.For a team that has known playing all over the world, this still was a unique experience, an altogether different feeling for players with their gold medals around their necks, seeing the tri-colour being unfurled and the national anthem played.“It’s an amazing feeling. We do travel on international assignments a lot, but nothing can match the emotions of representing your country at a multisport event and winning the gold,” the Indian batting mainstay went on, her voice a mix of elation and emotion.“This will proudly reflect in our country’s medal tally. We were looking forward to playing in the Asian Games. The facilities, the warmth we received from the people out there and the volunteers’ support system… it’s been great,” she said.Jemima in particular will take back fond memories from this final, her innings of 42 drawing praise from coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar, calling the knock “mature”.Opener Shafali Verma’s early dismissal threatened a mini collapse in the Indian innings. But vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who hit a fluent 46 and Jemima forged a 73-run partnership for the second wicket to take India to 89/2 in 14.5 overs. Inoka Ranaweera provided the breakthrough by accounting for Smriti, but India put up a competitive 116-7 in 20 overs.In reply, Sri Lanka’s top order was rocked by medium-pacer Titas Sadhu, who dismissed skipper Chamari Athapaththu (12), Anushka Sanjeewani (1) and Vishmi Gunaratne (0) in quick time to reduce Sri Lanka to 14/3 in 4.2 overs. Sadhu’s three wickets came off a measly six runs in her allotted four overs.Hasini Perera and Nilakshi de Silva stitched together a partnership to help Sri Lanka cross the 50-run mark in 9.3 overs. But, after Rajeshwari Gayakwad dismissed Hasini for 25 off 22 balls, Sri Lanka could never fight back, ending hostilities at 97-8 in 20.Kanitkar was delighted to have added to the country’s tally. “We rank this gold right up there because it adds to India’s tally of gold medals. So, I think it’s very, very important that we directly contribute to the country,” he said.“We were aiming for 120, but reaching it a couple of overs early would have surely allowed us to go for 140... the nature of the soil and conditions matter. But, we ended up with a decent score,” he said, ““The girls responded very well. We are always open to improving, and even though we have won the gold, we are open to improving more.”The final also marked the return of Harmanpreet from a two-match suspension after she smashed the stumps and verbally lashed out at the umpires, in two separate breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct, during the third match of their ICC Women’s Championship series against Bangladesh in Dhaka in July.On their future Games participation, Smriti said, “We loved playing in the Asian Games. It was a different kind of experience…the gold medal and the flag going up. I would love to be back again for the Games.”Jemimah chipped in: “Why would we not come after this historic win? I don’t see any reason. This has been a wonderful experience.”Though cricket was part of the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014, neither the men’s nor women’s Indian team had participated in the said editions. In 2010, Pakistan won the gold medal by beating Bangladesh by 10 wickets. In 2014, they repeated the feat against the same opponents, though winning by a margin of just four runs.Brief scores: India Women 116-7 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 46, Jemimah Rodrigues 42; Udeshika Prabodhani 2-16, Inoka Ranaweekra 2-21) beat Sri Lanka Women 97/8 in 20 overs (Hasini Perera 25; Titas Sadhu 3-6, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2-20) by 19 runs.