Families struck with silence and grief as India failed to lift the Women's World Cup

When Harmanpreet Kaur’s trailblazing century against the Australians booked a berth for the Indian Women’s team in the final at Lords, 125 crores Indian started believing that this was their year. As Mithali Raj and her side prepared to get the final bite of the cherry, their families remained glued to their TV sets praying for their daughters.

The main story:

As India failed to cross the final hurdle against hosts against England, a billion dreams shattered in a second back in the country. At India’s leading bowler Jhulan Goswami’s house, silence has now prevailed over the happiness and laughter that arose after the team’s semi final win.

“We have all been silenced and stunned. Dad and mom have stopped talking as of now,” told Jhumpa, who is the younger sister of Jhulan to the PTI from her home town Chakdah in Nadia district about 70 kilometres from Kolkata.

“We have not called her yet. The whole of Chakdah had planned to celebrate. About 800 had gathered in our para (locality) in Lalpur, near the Ramakrishna Temple. The club had installed a giant screen,” she said.

However, Jhumpa seemed content with Jhulan’s performance. She also revealed that their mother Jharna could not control her emotions and broke down as India lost the match.

“There was intense pressure. She did her job in the bowling (10-3-23-3). It’s not fair to expect from the tailenders, the batsmen should have taken them over the line.” Jhumpa added.

“Her fine bowling performance went in vain,” added her mother, Jharna Goswami.

“Nobody expected them to go so far. Everyone’s saying, it’s a remarkable performance. They may not have won but they have set the ball rolling for the revival of women’s cricket. Future is definitely bright and hopefully they will win next time,” concluded Jhumpa.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s hometown of Moga also witnessed a similar situation after the loss. The district in Punjab was prepared to celebrate India’s victory but the team failed to do so. The smiles disappeared from the faces in the family while disappointment took over.

“We are proud of our daughters, they have brought women’s cricket this far,” said Harmandar Singh Bhullar, the father of Harmanpreet.

“Even runners up will give a boost to women’s cricket in the country,” he added.

Harmanpreet’s mother said, “The team fought bravely, but it turned out to be a tough match today. We reached finals, even that is not any less achievement.”

However, Harmanpreet’s sister Hemjit claimed that she is confident that the team will lift the prestigious trophy one day.

“We were hopeful that we will win, they have ended runners-up now. In women’s cricket, chasing even this much remains a tall order…this happens in cricket and there is nothing to be disappointed about,” said Hemjit.