Keep Your Head Up, Ladies — You Cooked Australia!

 

By Shourya, Class 12

The semi-final victory is not just about Jemimah, Smriti, or Harmanpreet. It’s not merely a match — it’s an epic, an odyssey written with courage and conviction.

The story of Indian women’s cricket was never easy. In 2012, a retired cricketer, Anjum Chopra, stepped onto a field with 20 determined girls to create Delhi’s first women’s cricket team. The journey was uphill, the struggles endless, but the dream was alive. Anjum fought stereotypes, opened doors, and most importantly, built a pathway for the generations to come.

Then came Mithali Raj, one of the finest captains India has ever seen. She led the team to two World Cup finals — in 2005 and 2017 — often travelling in unreserved train coaches despite wearing the India jersey. Her career wasn’t free of hurdles; from internal politics to controversy with coach Ramesh Powar, Mithali faced it all. But she stood unshaken — calm, proud, and dignified.

These women are more than athletes; they are architects of change. They turned silence into stories and barriers into bridges, proving that cricket is not just a men’s game — it belongs to everyone who dreams.

In 1983, David Frith, founder of Wisden Cricket Monthly, mocked India’s chances against the mighty West Indies. After India’s historic win, he had to literally eat his own words. Decades later, our women are scripting their own version of that moment — making the world believe again.

This team doesn’t pause. It doesn’t bow. It climbs — higher, faster, stronger.

No stops. No slopes. Only the summit. Only the top.

Wear your jerseys like gowns, your caps like crowns.

When you walk out, when you walk off — whether in victory or defeat — speak what must be said, play how it must be played.

Ladies,

You’ve walked through fire,

Breathed through ashes,

You have nothing left to prove,

And no one left to please —

Because you can win it all.