ENGLAND’s nine-run win over India in the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday was a dramatic climax to a competitive tournament that was perhaps the most widely followed of its 11 editions since 1973. Though England, with three titles under their belt, had started out as favourites in the tournament, India stunned them with a 35-run win in the opener of the eight-team extravaganza. The semi-final win over Australia later catapulted India as joint favourites in the final. However, the hosts had the last laugh by clinching the cliffhanger at Lord’s, although there was a time when the match looked in balance with India well poised at 134 for 3. A match-winning six-wicket burst by fast bowler Anya Shrubsole saw England turn the tables on Mithali Raj’s team and bag their fourth title. Significantly, the tournament was a great success on and off the field. On Sunday, both teams played to a crowd of nearly 28,000 while according to estimates, global TV audiences reached over 70m in the final and 50m in the group stage matches. This was as good as any of the men’s events, barring of course the India-Pakistan matches — the Champions Trophy contest saw a whopping 200-million plus viewership.

The 2017 Women’s World Cup owed its success to the equal strengths of teams such as Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and India. Besides, all 31 matches were shown live for the first time ever. ICC, too, ensured better sponsorship deals for the tournament. The only weak links were, perhaps, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies — three teams with inadequate infrastructure in their respective homelands and limited international exposure. Millions of Pakistani fans keenly followed their team in the mega event, and though they were left disappointed by its performance, they realise that with sincere government patronage beefed up by PCB’s resources, our women’s team can perform much better in the next World Cup set to be played in New Zealand in 2021.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2017