SUNDAY, December 11th, 2022. D Y Patil Stadium, Mumbai. Indian Women’s Cricket team playing against the mighty Australian Eves in the second T20 clash of the series,.

Having won the first game, Aussies were looking forward to crush India as they amassed a huge total of 187. But Indian eves had different plans! Smriti, Shefali and Richa played with grit and focus under extreme pressure. It was a treat for the eyes as they kept smashing the ball beyond the boundary for some delightful fours and mighty sixes. The thrilling match took twists and turns and when the last ball was bowled, the scores stood tied! The match was going into a super over!

Once again, Smriti and Richa took the centrestage and set up an astonishing target of 20 runs! The Aussies then walked on to the field to chase the total, but Renuka Thakur kept the nerves and produced an amazing spell to defend it. The girls had risen to the occasion: The Aussies were handed the first loss of the year!

I watched the proceedings on TV absolutely spell-bound, as a famous Indian victory was being scripted! But more incredible was a 40,000 plus crowd in the packed stadium which rose to their feet to cheer the team! Throughout the match, the spectators kept clapping, shouting and encouraging the girls to do their best! A golden moment indeed for Women’s Cricket in India! When was Women’s International Cricket launched? I wondered. Google told me that a test match was played between English women and Australian women way back in 1934! ODIs were introduced in 1973 whereas the T20 format commenced in 2004.

The overall response to women’s cricket was, however, lukewarm in early days. The matches found only a few spectators; the TV telecast, a dismal viewership. Lack of funds and resources was the major obstacle in the growth of women’s cricket. Not many girls who aspired to play cricket for India could think of choosing it as a career option. Slowly but surely, things began to change, the profile began to grow. Women’s cricket matches started drawing bigger crowds, gaining more media coverage. Recent years also demonstrated the upsurge of women’s franchise cricket in many countries.

Since last decade or so, Indian sporting culture witnessed a major facelift. The Government turned proactive in allotting funds to enable Indian sportspersons to showcase their talent locally and globally. With such approach and easier access to fitness and training, more and more young women were driven to pursue sports professionally.

In this scenario, women’s cricket progressed as never before. A Jhulan or a Mitali is better known today as compared to a Diana Edulji. Women cricketers are now getting their due respect, fame, money and even TV commercials!

Remember the ‘Kuchh Khaas Hai…’ Cadbury ad which went on air in the 90s? The iconic ad showed a girl dancing her way to the cricket field to celebrate her boyfriend’s century. Cadbury refashioned the ad with a gender-swap twist in 2021. The new version features a girl hitting a winning six and the man rushing inside the field to congratulate her. A tiny, nonetheless momentous enterprise to accept and recognise the feats and hard work of women cricketers.

Come, let us all rejoice and applaud for the Indian women cricketers who are crafting exceptional triumph stories and emerging as powerful role models for the youth of this country. Way to go girls!