What went wrong for India at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022?

India’s painful exit from the Women’s World Cup broke a million hearts. The loss to South Africa in a thrilling contest extinguished all hopes of making the semi-finals for the Women in Blue. Jhulan Goswami didn't get her fairytale ending, missing out on her last World Cup match due to a side strain. She and captain Mithali Raj will now bow out without winning a World Cup in their illustrious career.

Many will attribute the loss to Deepti Sharma’s game-changing no ball in the 50th over. However, blaming a single incident for the exit seems unfair. It would hide all the other loopholes that caused the team to miss the mark by the barest of margins.

How did India fare at the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand?

The Mithali Raj-led side left a lot to be desired at the Women’s World Cup. Their preparations included an ODI series against the host nation just before the all-important tournament. The series exposed some recurring loopholes that came to bite the team during their World Cup journey. Three wins out of seven league matches ultimately caused the downfall. So, where did the team go wrong?

Passive fielding, dropped catches, and inexperienced wicket-keeping

Poor fielding has time and again let down the Indian women’s team. While we did see some outstanding boundary saves and direct hits executed by the players, there is room for a lot of improvement. The inability to stop the opposition from milking singles and doubles made all the difference in the end. Misfields further aggravated the situation.

Besides passive fielding, catches have also been shelled. Smriti Mandhana gave Mignon du Preez a life in the 45th over of the South African innings. The latter went on to see her team over the line in that last league match.

India’s match against Bangladesh saw quite a few missed stumpings and catches. Young Richa Ghosh, who had been preferred over Taniya Bhatia, made quite a few mistakes behind the stumps.

Although the missed opportunities did not prove to be costly against the Lady Tigers, the Women in Blue must try out a proper keeper in the future. Richa’s performance with the bat was also underwhelming. However, she is a bright prospect, and India requires an aggressive finisher like her.

Inconsistency in bowling

Inconsistency in bowling let the team down against the SENA countries. At the end of the league stage, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Sneh Rana feature in the list of top-10 wicket-takers, with Pooja Vastrakar ending up in 12th position.

India, however, lost to South Africa and Australia after posting 270+ runs. The inconsistency in bowling overshadowed moments of individual brilliance. As a result, the team was unable to defend the high scores.

Failure in latching on to the key moments

The Indian women lacked the quality to be enforcers. They have squandered various opportunities of dominating the opposition. For instance, in the match against South Africa, the team had reached 200 in the 37th over. An aggressive brand of batting by Shafali Verma propelled the team to that score.

However, the Women in Blue ended up with only 274 runs on the board. The batters missed the opportunity of posting a 300+ target. Failure to hold on to the key moments has let down this star-studded Indian lineup.

The team's performance in the 2022 edition of the World Cup was studded with some exceptional moments. Smriti and Harmanpreet scored twin centuries against West Indies; Pooja and Sneh led the team out of a precarious position against Pakistan - to name a couple. However, there are various weaknesses that must be addressed now to improve their chances of winning an ICC trophy in the future.