{"id":188749,"date":"2026-07-02T01:16:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=188749"},"modified":"2026-07-02T01:16:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:46:33","slug":"from-heartbreak-to-hospitality-memories-from-indias-womens-t20-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=188749","title":{"rendered":"From heartbreak to hospitality: Memories from India\u2019s Women\u2019s T20 campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

As you get off at the Oval tube station and move towards one of the world\u2019s most famous cricket grounds, just a couple of minutes away, you find a deep blue-and-purple team bus for the ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup. But it cannot be India\u2019s, of course. The Women in Blue were knocked out the previous afternoon by the magnificent Australians.<\/p>\n

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur gave India a chance with a stunning knock. She tends to reserve her best for Australia. But Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner came up with a brilliantly crafted century partnership to take their team comfortably past the Indian total, which was competitive considering the opposition. The Indian innings lacked momentum and planning. Something is not right when your best finisher gets to face just one ball.<\/p>\n

The organisers, too, would have been a bit disappointed with India\u2019s early exit. India is by far the biggest market for women\u2019s cricket, and it continues to grow rapidly.<\/p>\n

A few million more eyeballs would have followed the knockout stages had India remained in the competition. India also had a strong following at the grounds, with fans from different parts of the UK and even overseas travelling to Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and London.<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

Sometimes on foreign shores, you come across the \u2018milk of human kindness\u2019. (It is only fair to quote Shakespeare while reporting from England, right?)<\/p>\n

In Manchester, you have to travel to the ground to watch the Indian team\u2019s training session ahead of the match against South Africa. It isn\u2019t difficult to figure out commuting in the UK using your phone, but sometimes, especially on your first day in a new city, you need to speak to people, as you used to in the good old days before Google or ChatGPT.<\/p>\n

At a station from where you can catch either a tram or a bus to Old Trafford, you ask someone for directions. There is also a press conference to attend, and you don\u2019t have a lot of time on your hands.<\/p>\n

Darren is coming out of the Morrisons supermarket and tells you that you could wait for a bus. \u201cI am a bus driver myself,\u201d he says. \u201cI am just going to get some breakfast while my wife is shopping. Don\u2019t worry, if you are still struggling when I come out, I will take you to Old Trafford in my car; it is just 15 minutes away.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he comes out of the restaurant soon and still finds you waiting for the bus. \u201cCome on, let me take you to Old Trafford in my new car,\u201d says the tall, bearded man. \u201cI can\u2019t leave you here in a strange city.\u201d<\/p>\n

You politely refuse. He insists. And off you go (as they frequently say here). Before taking up driving as a career, Darren had been in the army and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. \u201cI was there when they caught Saddam Hussein,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Though he watches cricket, he is basically a football fan, like most Englishmen. So you talk about England\u2019s campaign at the World Cup. He is hopeful of England\u2019s chances under coach Thomas Tuchel. When you tell him that you interviewed Tuchel back in India, he is excited. \u201cOh My God,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is an honour for me to drive you, sir!\u201d<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

Talking of kindness in strange lands, you still remember the young female manager at the hotel in Cape Town during the Indian men\u2019s team\u2019s Test tour in 2023-24. By the time you get back to the hotel, the restaurant has closed, and there is no eatery anywhere nearby. The manager asks you to get into her car and takes you to a fast-food joint that stays open late into the night. You are glad that she lets you buy some food for her and her little daughter, who has to wait longer for her that night.<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

At Old Trafford, you cannot miss Emirates. The Dubai-based airline is the naming rights sponsor, and the ground is now officially called Emirates Old Trafford. So, you are greeted by two air hostesses from Emirates as you enter the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to promote Emirates,\u201d says Alexandra, smiling, even as a large number of Indian fans, wearing blue, stream in.<\/p>\n

The Women in Blue would, of course, lose that match to South Africa. You suspect it just might cost them dearly in the Group of Death.<\/p>\n

Published on Jul 02, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As you get off at the Oval tube station and move towards one of the world\u2019s most famous cricket grounds, just a couple of minutes away, you find a deep blue-and-purple team bus for the ICC Women\u2019s T20 World Cup. But it cannot be India\u2019s, of course. The Women in Blue were knocked out the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":188750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/E.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":180570,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=180570","url_meta":{"origin":188749,"position":0},"title":"Harmanpreet Kaur breaks Mithali Raj\u2019s record for most runs by an Indian in Women\u2019s T20 World Cups","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"June 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Harmanpreet Kaur broke Mithali Raj\u2019s record for the most runs by an Indian in Women\u2019s T20 World Cups during India\u2019s match against Pakistan at Edgbaston on June 14. 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