(Cricket news) India lost the Commonwealth Games gold medal match against Australia by 9 runs. They had to settle for a silver medal which is a good achievement in hindsight but the women in blue will be disappointed considering the position they were in. India lost the 1st match of the tournament in a similar fashion against Australia. They won the next two group games comfortably after which Harmanpreet Kaur's side defeated England in a nail-biting semi final. The final was always going to be difficult for India but they set themselves up in a very good position and in the end lost from a win-able position.
India's fielding has significantly improved especially in the final where they were inspirational in the field. Renuka Singh Thakur finished as the highest wicket taker of the tournament with 11 wickets in 5 matches. All-rounder Sneh Rana didn't get many chances with the bat but she bowled really well especially in the semi final against England. Jemimah Rodrigues has responded really well after being dropped from the World Cup squad earlier this year. She has now claimed the number 3 spot with her incredible performance in this tournament. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana were good with the bat but both often threw their wickets away which isn't something one would expect from the senior players.
When India lost the final in the 2017 ODI World Cup, the players received a grand welcome back to India but now things have changed because people have started to expect bigger things. Since the 2017 ODI World Cup, India lost the semi finals of the 2018 T20 World Cup and final of the 2020 T20 World Cup. The women in blue were knocked out of the 2022 ODI World Cup group stages. India were in a pole position to win the goal but slipped up at the end. They have experienced way too many of these small margin defeats but now they need to start winning tournaments. The T20 World Cup in South Africa next year would be their first opportunity.
Also read: Takeaways from India's dominant 4-1 T20I series win over West Indies
