An impressive win but there is one worry
India had set their eyes on a big score against the comparatively weak Netherlands
Shantha Rangaswamy
02-Dec-2000
India had set their eyes on a big score against the comparatively weak
Netherlands. They eventually ended batting first after being put in by the
opposition which very much suited them as I guess they would have batted
first even if they had won the toss.
Indian openers Anju Jain and Anjum Chopra began on a sedate note. While
Jain was more open to the idea of scoring runs, Chopra appeared to get
herself tied down with her attempt to play, more often than not, square on
both sides of the wickets. She appeared more cramped for space in the
process but played a determined innings. Anju Jain appeared to be a victim
of a leg before decision, bringing Mithali Raj to the middle.
The entry of Raj accelerated the scoring rate to an extent especially on
account of some very good running between the wickets by Chopra. The
101-run partnership for the second wicket between these two laid the
foundation for an onslaught later on. Chopra's attempt to play in front of
the wicket came rather late in the innings but she eventually fell in the
process of lofting one over extra cover.
The run rate was none too impressive even after Raj fell but the fourth
wicket pair of Hemalatha Kala and Chandrakantha Kaul smashed the Dutch
attack to smithereens and when the Indian innings ended, the score read a
healthy 275 for 4 with 75 runs coming in quick time from this partnership.
Kala's innings stood out as a shining example with her 56 runs coming off
just 40 balls. It was not just her score but the authentic and
authoritative manner in which she got those runs that warmed the handful of
spectators watching the match.
Kaul (39 off 37 balls), who has been out of touch with the game after her
sojourn in England, returned unbeaten, obviously happy with her form
although it was against one of the babes of the women's cricket arena. It
is interesting that Netherlands are playing in their fourth World Cup but
the difference in standard between the top five teams and the rest is
rather vast.
Set target of 276, Netherlands never seemed to be in the run. Sunita
Kanojia, who opened the attack, bowled against the breeze but appeared to
be the best medium pacer insight with her ability to swing the ball away
from a right hander which pays better dividends against the more
accomplished batsmen. But she was decisively unlucky not to be amongst the
wickets though she bowled economically.
In the end the Netherlands team managed to score 121 for 6 resulting in an
Indian victory by a huge margin of 154 runs. But what has been disturbing
out here has been the inability of the Indian team to get any team all out
in the competition and in the two warm up games prior to it. This is in
spite of the fact that all the teams respect the Indian spin attack and the
medium pacers have made the initial breakthroughs. May be the think thank
of the team needs to address this issue and sort out the strategically
problematic areas that may have crept into their game plan.
But the defeat of England at the hands of South Africa has made it easier
for India even though it has thrown open the competition and made it harder
for England to qualify for the semi-final. But then it is early days yet
and one can't write away the tenacious England team at this stage.