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Jhulan Goswami eyes a World Cup mark as India face New Zealand
The seasoned pacer needs two more scalps to become the most successful bowler in the tournament’s history; India look for their second straight win in Hamilton on Thursday.
When India’s most successful woman bowler Jhulan Goswami gets going against New Zealand at Hamilton in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup on Thursday, the 39-year-old would be eyeing yet another milestone in an illustrious career spanning two decades.
Goswami needs two more wickets to become the highest wicket-taker in women’s World Cups. She has 38 wickets, one short of Australian Lyn Fullston’s record tally. When one tries to remind India’s bowling spearhead of this, a surprised and humble Goswami said during a media interaction ahead of the tie, “Honestly, I wasn’t aware of this record. My job is to give early breakthroughs and provide good starts. But thank you for telling me. For me, it is important to contribute to the success of the team.”
Since her ODI debut in 2002, she has been the bowling mainstay. The Kolkata pacer is a respected figure in Indian women’s cricket for her bowling heroics and for the enthusiasm and energy on the field. Her immense contribution has helped lift the standards of Indian women’s cricket.
Playing in her fifth and the last World Cup, Goswami is mind is not on milestones but the title. “If you play (for) a long time, you are going to achieve a few milestones; yes, that gives me a lot of joy. I enjoy (when) I contribute and the team wins. Personal milestones do not matter to me as I am an absolute team player,” she said. He has taken 247 in 196 ODIs. Last year, she became the most successful bowler in ODI history.
She bowled a brilliant spell, returning 2/26, in India’s win over Pakistan in the opening game.
Goswami is in good form, having taken five wickets in three ODIs during the 1-4 series loss to the hosts before the World Cup. He ability to swing the ball both ways set her apart from many others.
Before leaving for New Zealand, she said: “We have posed with a lot of trophies in the past but I now want to lift the World Cup. We could not do it in 2005 or 2017, but we have a great time to make it happen in 2022.”
She urged her teammates to cash in, having acclimatised to the conditions. “We have to bowl in the right places. The grounds are very open and the wind blows; knowing how to take advantage of those things is important. We discussed a lot of stuff. Pooja (Vastrakar), Meghna (Singh), Renuka (Thakur) and Simran (Bahadur) have bowled well recently.”
New Zealand all-rounder Amy Satterthwaite praised Goswami.
“Jhulan has been phenomenal, a true class act. Taking on her bowling has been a challenge. Both Mithali (Raj) and Jhulan have been an inspiration for many for such remarkable long careers. They would be remembered as the greatest players of all time.”
India opener and teen sensation Shafali Verma has struggled for form and was out for a duck against Pakistan. It remains to be seen if she is persisted with in the eleven or left-handed batter Yastika Bhatia is given a chance to open with Smriti Mandhana. It will be the hosts’ third World Cup game. They lost to West Indies but beat Bangladesh in a 27-overs-a-side match. Indian spinners struggled against New Zealand in the ODI series, but impressed against Pakistan. It will be interesting to see if they can stop New Zealand batters from going big.
