WOMEN LOOK TO STORM DESERT

After the dress rehearsals, it’s time for the real thing as India take on New Zealand in their opening match of the WC

- KALYANI MANGALE

IT has been 588 days since the last time the Indian women's cricket team played World Cup cricket.

The followers of the game and even the casual watchers would remember the bleak February evening where despite having exceptional control over the situation in the semi-final against Australia, it all came crashing down at Newlands in Cape Town. While many things have remained categorically the same, a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then.

With the start of a new World Cup in Dubai's tough desertlike heat, there was a new spirit on display when India took the field for practice ahead of their opening match against New Zealand. In the high ball catching drills, there was a competition between Jemimah Rodrigues, opener Shafali Verma and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana to take the screamers.

However, it was Harmanpreet Kaur who asked head coach Amol Muzumdar to increase the intensity of the drills. After achieving that, the session wound up with Kaur taking a running/diving catch, which the team applauded with zeal.