India Women have reached the final of ICC Women’s World Cup with a thumping 36-run win against defending champions Australia. While Harmanpreet Kaur (171* off 115) demolished the Australian attack, the Jhulan Goswami-led attack bowled ran through the opposition’s lineup to bring India within sniffing distance of the coveted trophy.
Reflecting on the thrilling win, skipper Mithali Raj said, “I am speechless. For me and Jhulan it is very special because we are two players from 2005 (when India last reached the final) who are with the team. It seems like it’s going back to 2005, and I am just too happy that the girls have given us an opportunity to be a part of World Cup finals again.”
Speaking about Harmanpreet’s knock that single-handedly pushed the Australians on the back-foot, Mithali said, “From India’s point of view, yes. We have seen Athapaththu play (to make) 178. Again, it is good to see someone play from the Indian team, especially at this stage. It was important for us to come out with something like this performance to qualify for the finals.
“It is not easy to beat Australia. In spite of putting up a (big) total it seemed at one stage that they were catching up. But the bowlers have also done very well, especially the fast bowlers who gave us the initial breakthrough,” she added while crediting Goswami and Shikha Pandey’s efforts.
Discussing Harmanpreet’s performance she said, “The WBBL exposure has given Harman and Smriti a lot of knowledge (because) of the interactions with other players. Against Australia it was they who were giving us more inputs.”
Speaking about the strategy employed against Australia, she said, “When you play against Australia, you need to be on par in terms of being mentally strong. You need to take your chances because more defensive you are, they start attacking. It is always better to be attacking with them.
“Also, the fact that we knew that it was important for us to get that initial breakthrough because the openers have always given them the start. For us it was really important to get those two early wickets. Of course, they lost the opener very early as well as Meg Lanning. Lanning’s wicket was the turning point I think because huge runs were scored by openers, Meg Lanning and Perry. Once they were three wickets down, it was always going to be very difficult for them to chase 280,” she added.
Analyzing the match, she said, “Ideally I would have wanted the openers to have more runs. But I think it is okay as long as the team looks very confident, inspired by the performances in the last two games.
“It is important to know how to comeback to beat good sides, which we have done here. Today, I can proudly say as a captain that this team has really made a comeback. We posted a total that even in a 50-over-a-side game we haven’t really posted. All of them, whether the fast bowlers or batters, looked in sync,” she summed up.
Looking forward to the prospect of playing at Lords in front of a packed crowd, she said, “I am sure it’s going to be a different experience to what I have had before. I think in 2005, hardly anybody knew that India have qualified for the final, because they were all too involved with men’s cricket. Nobody really paid attention to the Indian women’s team. The match wasn’t televised as well so we couldn’t really garner that many viewers at that point of time. But now you know it will be a big achievement for the girls if they pull it off.
“I personally feel the girls need to enjoy being in an atmosphere like that. Each one of them will be the lucky ones to be a part of the finals to play at Lords. Every cricketer dreams of playing at Lords because of the history. Here we have made an effort, reached there. It’s just that the girls (have to) perform the best as they have always done,” she stated.
Looking back on the journey leading up to the final, Mithali said, “This being my last World Cup I will obviously want to enjoy being in the World Cup (final). This (edition of the) World Cup has really given scope for the players to increase their profile as well as promote Women’s cricket on a larger scale because all the matches are televised and broadcast. It is also an opportunity for the Indian team to make it big in India. Having said that, it was important for me to perform, but also see to it that the girls don’t get burdened with the pressure of playing the World Cup. So far, the girls have enjoyed challenges, enjoyed being there. I’m sure so far they’ve enjoyed every victory and even the defeats have taught us a lot to come back into the tournament.”
