Veteran India pacer Jhulan Goswami climbed on top of the most wickets chart at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup history during their huge win over West Indies on Saturday at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
Almost exactly 17 years ago Goswami took her first World Cup wicket, dismissing Inoka Galagedara of Sri Lanka on 22 March 2005. On March 12, 2022, Goswami dismissed Anisa Mohammed for her 40th wicket at the tournament.
Interestingly, Goswami has dismissed 40 different batters and never got the same batter out twice at a World Cup, with Mohammed her seventh West Indian victim. Goswami surpassed Australian Lyn Fullston who held the previous record since 1988, her 39 wickets coming at an average of 11.94.
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That first wicket back in 2005 may have been the only scalp she took in her debut World Cup match, but it was the first and only time she would ended with an economy lower than one.
Goswami produced figures of eight overs, three maidens, five runs and one wicket, and she was just getting started, taking 13 wickets in the tournament in South Africa, her highest at a single World Cup.
The 2009 edition of the World Cup was less fruitful, taking just four wickets but her best performance came against hosts Australia in the third-place play off, dismissing opener Leah Poulton and tailender Rene Farrell for figures of two for 21 as India won by three wickets.
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After taking nine wickets on home soil in 2013, Goswami was back in the double figures in 2017 as India lost out to England by nine runs in the final. The 39-year-old took three for 23, one of two times where she has taken three wickets in an innings to move to 10 for the tournament.
Her highest wicket haul came in 2005 as she produced figures of four for 16 against the West Indies only four days after delivering four for 27 against England. Goswami has lined up eight ducks across her 40 dismissals with 14 wickets bowled, including the first.
Mohammed’s dismissal takes Goswami to 14 dismissals caught by fielders while seven have been caught by the wicket-keeper with five coming leg before wicket. Fortunately for India, usually if Goswami is taking wickets, they will win the game with 27 of her previous 39 wickets coming in wins, 11 in losses and 1 in a no-result, that very first wicket.
Meanwhile, talking about the game, India defeated West Indies by a mammoth 155-run margin. Batting first, India rode on Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur centuries to put in 317/8. In reply, West Indies started well putting 100 runs for the opening wicket.
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But a breakthrough started the slide for them as the Caribbeans were all out for 162. The 184-run stand by Harmanpreet and Mandhana for the fourth wicket was also India’s highest in the tournament.
With ICC inputs
