The positive body language of the Indian women's team in the ongoing tri-series spells great news for the women's game in the country
Sometimes, it's nice to leave behind the hallowed (and often, dusty) chambers and labyrinthine corridors that are part of my heritage wanderings and return to another passion, albeit one that we look towards when the odd game stirs up the interest quotient. This time, it forced us to sit down and take a breather on a chore-ridden Sunday morning.
We are speaking about our women in blue, who went into duel with England yesterday in a T20 game at the Brabourne Stadium that is part of a tri-series tournament that includes Australia. While India was defeated by seven wickets [we were glad that we didn't catch much of the chase lest it would have thrown us into definite funk] the body language and overall positivity that was on display during India's batting made us smile. It spoke volumes about the change that is floating across the women's game.
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It made us jog our memory back to December last year, when we had the chance for a quick tete-a-tete with India test captain Mithali Raj. This was on the sidelines of a women-centric event in Bandra where she, along with several other leading lights across industries and professions spoke of being numero uno in their respective fields, particularly those where they were in a minority.
What Raj told us during that chat left us with tremendous hope for her ilk. For one, she didn't believe in having an ego, nor did we sense even a shred of insecurity of being a women cricketer in a male-cricket-loving country. Instead of sounding like a stuck record about being the deprived, less-sought after set in comparison to their male counterparts, she was happy to let her bat and leadership skills do all the talking. There was a certain subtle boldness and 'bindass' attitude that struck us at the time and what I suspect, she has beautifully transferred, along with her calm demeanour, to the young team. It was on full display during yesterday's game. They might have lost, but their body language was a great sight for any follower of the woman's game. It was also lovely to watch young talent Harmanpreet Kaur, who has blossomed under Raj, lead the Indian team that included the likes of seniors like Jhulan Goswami, and Raj, of course.
There was a lot of bonhomie in the dugout, each time the camera panned on them — again an aspect that Raj had touched upon when we spoke. She chuckled as she revealed of signing, banter, and playing the fool that was all very crucial in the dressing room and on tour to ensure the mood off the field was light.
A win would have been the icing on the cake for all of us who were rooting for the team yesterday. Yet, we are glad to have watched the real takeaway from the encounter — a positive, focused and talented team that's on the cusp of even bigger things.
mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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