India’s women endured a disappointing campaign in the 2022 World Cup, failing to emerge from the group stage of the tournament. Ramesh Powar would have been hopeful for a deep run in the competition after the women's team reached the final of the 2017 World Cup, where they finished as runners-up to England.
Due to the quality of their squad, featuring skipper Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana, and Harmanpreet Kaur in the batting ranks and Jhulan Goswami, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, and Deepti Sharma in their bowling attack, there was plenty of optimism regarding their fortunes in the World Cup, ranking behind only Australia and England in the betting odds to win the crown. However, their talent failed to come to the fore in the crunch matches of the competition, while no loss was more painful than their defeat to South Africa from the final ball of the match.
Raj and her teammates produced fine cricket at times during the World Cup, but their inability to win the crux moments cost them a chance to compete for the crown. At the age of 39, India has to be honest about the future of Raj to determine whether she is the right player to lead the team forward into the next World Cup. There were instances of quality to suggest that India could go all the way, but for one reason or another, Raj was unable to inspire her team to produce their best under pressure.
Compared to the other leading lights in the tournament, in the form of Australia and England, India is now a significant step behind its rivals. Both Australia and England were excellent under the spotlight of the occasion, but especially England, who endured a terrible start to the competition but rallied to reach their second final on the bounce.
Only Australia’s brilliance prevented England from winning a second World Cup in a row, with the Baggy Greens proving that they are the standout team in the world. Australia will no doubt be a solid bet for the 2025 World Cup, according to the best cricket betting sites in India, with India having a lot of work ahead of them to close the gap.
The reigning champions have a lot of young talent in their ranks compared to that India, whose best players are aging. England will also be strong contenders for the crown after finding their best form a little bit too late. India will have decent-priced odds given their failure to win the World Cup previously, therefore, there could be valuable if they get it right. However, the long road ahead to begin matching Australia starts now, and the gulf in class was notable.
It was evident in the group stage against India when Meg Lanning scored 97 with the ball to down Raj’s side, although India was found wanting with the ball when the Australia captain was in full flow. There was hope in that clash against the Aussies for a brief moment for India when Meghna Singh dismissed Lanning, leaving Australia requiring eight runs from the final over.
Goswami was entrusted with the responsibility, but crumbled under the pressure, being struck for two boundaries in three deliveries to lose the game. Sharma too lost her cool under the spotlight against South Africa, bowling a costly no-ball which eradicated the dismissal of Mignon du Preez and leaving the Proteas with only two runs to win from the final two balls, which ended India’s campaign.
Raj and India can only look back at their World Cup with disappointment, especially when they matched the best sides in the tournament outside of England in their only crushing defeat. India has three years to prepare themselves for the challenge of the next competition, where they may have to make difficult decisions regarding their veteran players, including Raj and Goswami, after failing to display the nous under pressure to deliver the crown.
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