3 big positives for the Indian women's cricket team in 2023
The Indian women's side had a mixed bag results-wise in 2023, with several highs and some unfortunate lows. The inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) earlier in the year being a resounding success was a highlight for the Indian and overall Women's game, with the Mumbai Indians (MI) winning the title.
Yet, specifically for the Indian team, the year was defined by inconsistent performances from the individual players and the side as a whole. However, the team playing matches in all three formats after no Tests in 2022 was a significant achievement this year.
Despite trailing 0-2 in the ongoing ODI series against Australia, a deeper breakdown of India's performances this year will reveal a tale of two halves. While a lack of consistency and disappointing big-picture results by their high standards defined the first seven months, the following five months had some of India's most historic moments.
On that note, here are the three biggest positives for the Indian women's team in 2023.
#1 India Women asserted their dominance in Test cricket
It is impossible to look beyond India's back-to-back wins in one-off Tests against England and Australia as the most telling positive in 2023.
Despite not losing a single game in the red-ball format since 2005/06, India Women have been deprived of opportunities to flex their muscles in the traditional format.
Yet, in the first Test outing since 2021 and the first at home in nine years, India dominated England and registered a 347-run victory at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. It was also the biggest victory in women's Test cricket history.
The side showcased their hunger for more success against the dominating force of the women's game, the Australians. In a hard-fought encounter at the Wankhede Stadium, the hosts won their first-ever Test against the Aussies by eight wickets.
However, the Indian women will not play any more Tests at home in the 2022-25 Women's Future Tours Programme (FTP) cycle. Nevertheless, should there be a drastic increase in Tests for India Women in the future, the two recent wins against England and Australia could be a watershed moment.
#2 Team India overcame their big-match hoodoo to clinch gold in the 2023 Asian Games
Over the years, the India Women have often been there and thereabouts in multi-nation tournaments only to stumble at the knockout stages.
With no titles to show for in a combined 18 ICC ODI and T20I World Cups, the Women in Blue had built a reputation for being so near yet so far. Adding to the pressure was their silver medal finish in the Commonwealth Games last year and the heartbreaking semi-final exit in the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
However, the side put those painful memories behind them with their sensational performance in the 2023 Asian Games at Hangzhou. In their first time at the event after missing out in 2010 and 2014, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side steamrolled Bangladesh in the semi-final by eight wickets.
While the grand finale was a much stauncher challenge, India emerged triumphant against Sri Lanka by 19 runs to clinch the gold in their maiden appearance.
Although the competition isn't as stiff as the World Cups, winning two knockout games and a major title could be the stepping stone for Team India to break their ICC title drought in the coming years.
#3 Several key players taking the next step and becoming more consistent
The inconsistencies in team results aside, several Indian players made giant strides in their performances this year, none more so than 23-year-old Jemima Rodrigues.
The middle-order batter began the year with an impressive T20 World Cup campaign, including a memorable 53* off 38 in a thrilling victory against Pakistan. She continued making solid contributions throughout the year and converted a big two of Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur into a reliable big three.
Rodrigues was India's leading run-scorer in Tests and ODIs in 2023. After averaging under five in ODIs when she last played the format in 2021, the youngster averaged a terrific 63.75 at a strike rate of 90.74 in five games this year.
The talented batter continued her excellent T20I form over the last two years and averaged over 31 at a strike rate of 107.14 in 2023. She also took to Test cricket with no fuss, averaging 60 in the two one-off games to cement herself among the top batters in the world.
The emergence of Pooja Vastrakar as an all-rounder this year has been another positive for Team India. While the 24-year-old has been a reliable bowler, especially since last year, her improvement in batting this year has been a revelation.
Although the results haven't been there in T20Is yet, Pooja improved her batting average from 12.33 in 2021 to 74 this year in Tests. There was a similar upswing in the ODIs, with the right-hander averaging 38.50 compared to 28.27 a year ago.
Richa Ghosh's incredible rise as India's wicket-keeper batter was another massive step in the right direction. After a dismal 2022, where she averaged under 20 in ODIs, the 20-year-old has made a sensational comeback in the ongoing Australia series with an average of 58.50 in two games.
Richa's consistency was markedly better also in the shortest format, with the average shooting up from 21.58 in 2022 to 32.16 this year. Furthermore, she scored a crucial 52 in the one-off Test against Australia on her debut in the format.