Beth Mooney smashed a magnificent 125 and ensured Australia continued their record streak in ODIs, but India women’s cricket team have to blame themselves for the loss at MacKay.
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There is a scene in the 2001 Bollywood movie Lagaan starring Aamir Khan. It is about how a group of farmers plays a game of cricket to escape the harsh taxation imposed by the British authorities in their area. The condition was if the farmers beat the British in a game of cricket, they would be exempt from paying taxes for three years. England is on course for a big score, but stumble to spin in a dramatic hat-trick. The farmers lose wickets but one individual carries them single-handedly. Aided by a partnership from a farmer who got injured, they get them close.
With wickets tumbling, they need 10 off the last over. A four is hit first ball. In the second, Aamir Khan gets hit on the head. He recovers and tries to hit a boundary. But, the next ball sees only a single. Five runs are needed off three balls.
The No.11 misses two balls. Five needed off one ball. When he swings hard, he fails to find the boundary. The game seems lost. But, in a typical Bollywood twist, it is a no-ball. The strike has changed. Aamir launches the ball over the ropes and the farmers have beaten the English. It is the ultimate David vs Goliath story. It was not surprising that this film was the entry into the Oscars.
Often, it is said that whatever happens on reel does not happen in reality. Right? But, what fans all around the world witnessed in the second ODI between India and Australian women in MacKay was equivalent to the Lagaan script. India had a big total. Australia had lost wickets. But, calculated brilliance from a batter and a meltdown in the final over saw Australia continue their dominant streak in ODIs. It now stands at 26.
57, 2, 6, 44, 73, 77* and 125*. These are the scores that Beth Mooney has in MacKay. During the WBBL 2020, she established herself as one of the legendary batters in the competition. Already, Mooney had acquired the reputation of being gutsy and brave. During the 2019 WBBL, Mooney battled exhaustion and dehydration in the final against the Sydney Sixers. Determined to break the dominance of Sydney, Mooney stepped up and played a knock that gave Brisbane Heat the title for the first time.
Mooney is the No.1 batter in T20Is. She played the ideal second foil to Alyssa Healy’s belligerence in the final of the ICC World T20 in 2021. In the Australian side, she has acquired the status of being so mathematically precise that she knows when to time the chase perfectly. This is an art that Indian fans are used to when they see Virat Kohli in action. In MacKay, India got a dose of Australia’s use of the Virat Kohli technique.
When Australia lost wickets, Mooney was still there. She began the rebuilding process with Tahlia McGrath. What was impressive about Mooney was that she believed in the old maxim of getting to the target with singles and twos rather than slogs and big hits. The way she handled the spinners, who were entrusted to keep things quiet in the middle overs, showed how she read the situation well. It is this bravery that has led many in Australia to term Mooney as MacBeth, for her sheer dominance at MacKay.
If there was one difference between the Indian and Australian sides at MacKay, it was the fielding. India missed plenty of chances while Australia grabbed them. Plus, the dew factor played right into Australia’s hands. The Indian bowlers just did not have the grip. When McGrath was dropped, she added another 20-30 runs which proved to be costly for India.
At that time, Mooney was striking at 74. But, when push came to shove, she immediately got going in style. Nicola Carey helped her brilliantly as she managed to get some boundaries. When Richa Ghosh, the wicketkeeper, missed a simple stumping of Carey, the force was with Australia.
From striking at 74, Mooney raised her strike rate to 85 when she notched up 100. A run-out was missed by Deepti Sharma, a catch was dropped by Jemimah Rodrigues and Australia needed 13 runs in the final over to be bowled by Jhulan Goswami. It was Goswami who had gotten India to a great position when she took out Australia’s gun player in Alyssa Healy.
Richa Ghosh was having a nightmare as she fumbled twice to give three extra runs. The dew started playing tricks. Jhulan bowled a head-high full toss that clonked Carey on the head. In the free-hit, Ghosh missed another run-out. Three runs were needed off one ball. Carey found the fielder and India seemed to have ended the streak.
Or had they? The third umpire was now checking for the no-ball. After many replays, India’s joy was replaced by despair. It was a waist-high no-ball. Australia needed two runs. Carey calmly slotted the ball to long-on and stole the couple to keep the streak alive.
Indian fans can become ace geometry professors. They can also become masters in the art of dissection. But, it does not change the fact. Many people might point out that the batter was bent. But, on all angles, it was a no-ball. India did not deserve to win the match primarily for two reasons. One, the fielding was absolutely shoddy. A team cannot win the game if they miss so many run-outs, have sloppy misfields, and dropped catches. A total of seven instances were recorded in the last six overs. Each was costlier than the other.
The second major reason is probably harsh. When Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma boosted India to 74 in 11 overs, the score for India should have been in excess of 300. Now, Mithali Raj and Yastika Bhatia had strike rates lower than 35. In this day and age, one cannot have such a low strike rate. Mithali, if one has to shun her legendary consistency, has scored at a strike rate of over 80 and 70 just twice in 20 innings in two years. The rest have been in the 60s. If the strike rate is over-rated, then in Mithali’s case it is not. The same Indian fans who are questioning Cheteshwar Pujara’s low strike rate in a Test match are silent for Mithali in an ODI. Talk about misplaced thinking and priorities!
The fact of the matter is, when an opposition misses some chances, then the team deserves to win. Australia women’s cricket team is simply the best in the business. They pounce on some moments and turn the tide brilliantly. India has missed the chance to join the men’s team and become the ultimate streak killer for Australian cricket.
They may get another chance in the third ODI. But, if the second ODI has to be remembered, think of it as a symbol of Australia’s brilliance. India’s fans will do better to not focus on that so-called dodgy ‘no-ball’. The rules were interpreted brilliantly.
