India are gearing up for the much awaited ICC Women's ODI World Cup which is slated to kick off from March 4 in New Zealand.
Mithali Raj-led team, however, coming from a dismal outing where had to suffer a 1-4 series loss against the White Ferns.
The upcoming ODI World Cup could also be the last for Indian veterans Mithali and Jhulan Goswami, who have been giving their services to Indian cricket for over two decades now. And they will definitely try to finish their respective careers on a high.
India didn't win a single Women's Cricket World Cup. The eleven World Cups played to date have been held in five countries, with India and England having hosted the event three times. Australia is the most successful team, having won six titles and failed to make the final on only three occasions.
The first set of games will also see two massive rivalries take the centre stage, with Australia taking on England at Seddon Park in Hamilton on 5 March and India facing Pakistan in Tauranga the following day.
A total of 31 games will be played across 31 days, with the eight teams clashing to get their hands on the coveted World Cup trophy. Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Wellington will be the six cities that will host the tournament.
India's performance so far in the World Cup
Mithali Raj-led side will look to end their World Cup title drought. Having tasted defeat by just nine runs in the final of the 2017 World Cup against England, India went on to reach the T20 World Cup decider in 2020. However, once again they faltered at the last hurdle, losing to a strong Australian side at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) by 85 runs.
India also cruised to the final back in 2005. In the summit clash, Australia posted 215/4 after Karen Rolton, the No.3 batter, scored an unbeaten 107. India didn’t stand a chance after that, and was bowled out for just 117.
World Cup winners' list
2017 winners England
The 11th edition of the premier event was hosted by England, who went on to win the tournament, beating India in the final at Lord’s in a thriller.
England finished atop the table at the end of the group stages, level on points with Australia, with both teams just losing one fixture each in seven matches. India and South Africa joined them in the semi-finals.
India shocked Australia in their semi-final, with Harmanpreet Kaur smashing a magical 171 not out off 115 balls – the fifth-highest World Cup score overall, and the highest individual score made by an Indian in the women’s World Cup. In the other semi-finals, England eased past South Africa in a nail-biting thriller, with just two balls remaining, to set up a cracking finale.
India looked primed to chase down England’s 229-run target in the final, having reached 191/3 in the 43rd over. However, a collapse, triggered by the nerveless Anya Shrubsole, who returned 6/46 – the best figures in a women’s World Cup final – helped England snatch victory in front of a near full-house at Lord’s.
2013 winners Australia
The tenth edition of the tournament proved to be a great advertisement for the women’s game. Four teams – Australia, England, India and New Zealand – had already qualified for the main event and were joined by Sri Lanka, South Africa, Pakistan and West Indies, who qualified through the 2011 Women's World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka sprung a surprise by pulling off a thrilling one-wicket win over England, the defending champion, in the group stage, and even went on to beat India by 138 runs, thus scripting the home side’s exit from the tournament, while Pakistan remained winless.
After suffering heavy defeats to India and England in the group stage, West Indies did a turnaround in the Super Sixes, winning all three games, including first-time wins over New Zealand and Australia.
But in the final, the Jodie Fields-led Australians bounced back in style to beat West Indies by 114 runs and clinch its sixth World Cup title.
2009 winners England
England and New Zealand, the eventual finalists, won all their group stage matches and lost one match each in the Super Sixes.
A lot was expected from the home side, but Australia lost to New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament and was also beaten by India in a crucial Super Sixes match. But it bounced back to win the third-place playoff, beating India by three wickets. South Africa and Sri Lanka failed to win any matches in the tournament.
In the Super Sixes match against Pakistan, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and Haidee Tiffen were involved in a 262-run second-wicket stand – the second-highest partnership in women's One-Day Internationals, and the highest in a women's World Cup match – that set up a massive 223-run win.
In the final at North Sydney Oval, Nicky Shaw, the England pacer, took 4 for 43 to restrict New Zealand to 166 and a solid batting performance then took England to a four-wicket win.
2005 winners Australia
The tournament format was exactly the same as in the previous edition, and had a new finalist in India, which took on Australia, the pre-tournament favourite.
Australia was the most dominant team through the course of the competition, winning five of its seven round-robin games by big margins, the other two being washed out. India also had two of its games washed out, while it also lost to New Zealand.
In the final, Australia posted 215 for 4 after Karen Rolton, the No. 3 batter, scored an unbeaten 107. India didn’t stand a chance after that, and was bowled out for just 117.
2000 winners New Zealand
The seventh edition was hosted by New Zealand and was won by the home side in a cliff-hanger of a final against its Trans-Tasman rival.
Australia, which went unbeaten into the semi-final, brushed South Africa aside with a nine-wicket win. New Zealand, which had lost to Australia in the group stage, also won easily, beating India by nine wickets.
In sharp contrast to the semi-finals, which were lopsided affairs, the final was a nail-biting affair. Australia, the favourite, was set 185 for victory, and it took a collective effort by the home side bowlers to stop it four runs short with Belinda Clark's 91 going in vain.
1997 winners Australia
This edition featured a record 11 teams and was played over 50 overs for the first time.
Australian Belinda Clark's 229 not out against Denmark and England’s Charlotte Edwards's 173 not out against Ireland still remain the top two individual scores in women’s cricket history. But, while the tournament recorded four 300-plus totals, Pakistan was dismissed for 27 in a mere 82 balls, still the shortest completed innings in the women’s game.
England, Australia, New Zealand and India made it through to the semi-final. While Australia defeated India by 19 runs in the first, New Zealand took out England by 20 runs in the second game. New Zealand could only put up 164 in the final, courtesy Debbie Hockley's brilliant 79. Australia got off to a solid start, as Clark (52) led the side from the front and it went past the target in 47.4 overs with five wickets remaining, giving Australians its fourth championship title.
1993 winners England
The fifth edition was played in England. A total of eight teams featured in the competition, with Denmark and West Indies making their debuts. India, too, made a comeback to the championship.
After the round-robin stage of seven matches for each team, New Zealand and England made the final, the three-time champion Australians losing out. The group stage was dominated by New Zealand, which remained unbeaten, while England’s only loss came against New Zealand, by 25 runs.
In the final, England rode on the 85-runs partnership for the second wicket between Janette Brittin (48) and Carole Hodges (45) to get a good start. In the process, Brittin became the first woman to score 1000 World Cup runs. After them, Jo Chamberlain bludgeoned 38 runs from 33 deliveries to take England to 195 for 5. New Zealand’s reply never took off and it was shot out for 128, giving England a 67-run win.
1988 winners Australia
It was once again a five-team tournament, but instead of an International Women’s XI, there were two associate nations making their debuts – Ireland and the Netherlands, while India was missing. The number of matches played also drastically reduced, with each team playing eight games.
The main scrap was once again between Australia and England. Australia won seven and lost one – against England – to finish at the top of the table. England came second, its two losses coming against New Zealand and in its other clash against Australia.
The final between the arch-rivals – England and Australia – wasn’t quite the thriller it was in the previous edition. England, batting first, was restricted to 127 for 7, with Janette Brittin’s unbeaten 46 largely responsible for that total. Lyn Fullston, the left-arm spinner, was the pick among the Australian bowlers, returning 3 for 29. England started the chase spiritedly, reducing Australia to 14 for 2. However, Lindsay Reeler scored an unbeaten 59 and put on an unbroken, decisive 115-run stand with Denise Annetts (48) to seal an eight-wicket victory and Australia’s third title.
1982 winners Australia
There were five participants this time around, including an International Women’s XI, but what was noteworthy was the number of matches played. Each team played 12 matches in the round-robin stage, with the two teams at the top of the pile taking each other on in the final.
The final was again a closely-contested affair. Opting to bat, England posted 151 for 5, largely thanks to Jay Allen’s 53. In response, Australia put in a fine team performance. Jen Jacobs’s 37 was the highest in the innings, and she was closely followed by Karen Read (32), Sharon Ann Tredrea (25) and Marie Cornish (24). Their combined effort ensured Australia sailed home with three wickets and an over to spare.
1978 winners Australia
India made its debut in the tournament at the event hosted in the country. Only four teams participated: Australia, England and New Zealand joining the home side.
Australia was undefeated in the tournament, winning against New Zealand by 66 runs, India by 71 and getting its revenge over England from the 1973 edition with an eight-wicket win in Hyderabad. Put in, the defending champion was reduced to 28 for 6 by the pace of Sharon Ann Tredrea, who finished with 4 for 25, before finally putting up 96 for 8. Glynis Hullah then struck twice as Australia fell to 6 for 2, but a patient effort from Sharon’s sister Janet (37 not out) and Margaret Jennings, the captain (57), completed an eight-wicket win.
England finished the tournament with two wins, while India couldn’t open its account.
Australia’s good form was underlined by the fact that three of the top five batters (Jennings – 1, Sharon – 4, Wendy Hills – 5) and top five bowlers (Sharyn Hill – 1, Sharon – 2, Peta Verco – 5) were all from the cup-winning side.
1973 winners England
The first winner at a limited-overs World Cup was, in fact, not West Indies, but the England women’s team, at the first Women’s World Cup in 1973, two years before the first men’s event.
Seven teams – England, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, an International XI and Young England – participated in the event. It was held in a round-robin format, with each team playing the others once, and the top team on points lifting the title.
England’s Enid Bakewell and Lynne Thomas hit the first centuries of the tournament in its opening match against International XI. Its total of 258 for 1 in that game was the highest until its last game, against Australia, when another century by Bakewell and a fifty by Heyhoe-Flint took England to 279 for 3 in 60 overs and a 92-run win.
England won five of its games, losing only to New Zealand in a rain-affected match. It was closely followed by Australia, with four wins and one no result.
