India Women are geared up to take on England Women in the final for the ICC Women’s World Cup, 2017. The team’s comeback from successive defeats to make it to the grand finale at Lord’s have boosted their confidence. The Mithali Raj-led team have also beaten England in their opening game of the tournament and will look to draw from that experience when they take the field on Sunday, 23 July.
Asked if the victory over the home team will give India the edge in the final, Mithali cautioned that the final will be a new ball game altogether. “That was in the league, this is a different match altogether. England is a very good side. After the defeat against India, they have comeback very strongly. It boils down to how we again create the momentum tomorrow and how we work towards the situations on the ground and how the girls step up.”
Discussing the opposition, the India captain said, “England have quite a few all-rounders in the side, but we need to play to our strengths. If you see last two games against New Zealand and Australia, the batters and the bowlers have come good. We will have a few plans up our sleeves. (However), it all comes down to how we will implement it and how we perform tomorrow.”
Talking about the big match, she added, “It is a final and everyone will have their nerves because no matter how many finals they have played, there is always the fear of putting a foot wrong. So, I am sure both the teams would feel that. India... especially this bunch of players is playing the final for the first time, but I don’t see any fear in them. It is completely different to 2005 (final) where we were all overawed by the occasion. These girls are different. I am sure it is not going to be easy but it all depends on how well we hold our nerves to perform,” she added.
Speaking about Harmanpreet Kaur’s availability she said, “Harmanpreet is fit enough to take the field tomorrow. She was dehydrated that day (semi-final). Because of the delay in the game, none of the girls had time to grab some lunch. The timing extended because of the delay. Also, there are a few of niggles here and there but I guess she will be fit for tomorrow’s game. She is taking precautions as required to ensure not to aggravate those niggles.”
Asked about adjusting to the slope factor at Lords she said, “We just have to play according to the situation. Each one of us has a different way of adapting to it. If you start thinking too much about the slope, how the ball is going to curve in or curve out, you forget the fundamentals of your own batting. We need to keep it as simple as we have been doing throughout the tournament.
“The wicket looks full of runs and any venue where you have scored previously always gives you confidence, but that is it. You have to again start putting in that focus and work hard to score your runs,” said the experienced player who has good memories of the venue.
The team had just two days between the semi-final and final one of which one was a travel day. While talking about the gap between two big games, Mithali said, “Today was the only day we got to train. I think it’s always better that there is not too much of a gap between games. If you are in momentum you want to continue that. Maybe, I don’t think the girls got enough time to feel that they are part of the World Cup finals at Lord’s, maybe tomorrow they might feel it. There are some players who might not actually feel that pressure at all. Everybody has a different way of handling pressure. For young girls, I am sure they are quite excited to be here.”
Looking forward to her second World Cup final, Mithali said, “It is a completely different experience even though I was a finalist in 2005, obviously because of the ground that we are playing in and also for the fact that the whole world is going to watch India play. It is a completely different situation because everybody back home is now rooting for India. Things have changed immensely for women’s cricket and women cricketers. Everybody is happy the way the team has performed throughout the tournament and it is just one more game that it can change the fortunes of women’s cricket and Indian women’s cricket.”
Asked if a winning the trophy would propel women’s cricket in India to greater heights, the skipper said, “I am sure of that because BCCI now is definitely looking up to women’s cricket. There might be a lot of changes back home if we go on to win the World Cup. Those changes will benefit the future generations to come.”
Mithali would be playing her last World Cup game, asked about it, she said, “I look at it as I am fortunate to be a part of the World Cup finals and thanks to the girls and to the team for giving me this opportunity. And unlike 2005 where I played with a lot of pressure, this time I would definitely want to enjoy being out there performing for the team, leading the team. In all these years, I have learnt that there were lots of occasions that I could have enjoyed the success of the team or few of my innings but it never occurred to me, but now I would make sure that I would not let the fear of what might go wrong cross me. I am part of the side, which has really done well. Irrespective of the result, I will be proud of these girls for the way they have performed throughout the tournament. The side looks very strong to me.”
