Former Indian batsman and a popular face in the commentary panel, Sanjay Manjrekar has backed the Indian eves to lift their maiden Women’s World Cup tomorrow against England at Lord’s after a resounding victory against the 6 time World Champions Australia in the semi final. Manjrekar has been part of the commentary panel for the Women’s World Cup.
Taking on his twitter handle Manjrekar wrote, “Backing India to win tomorrow. It’s after all World Cup final against a strong team & it’s at Lord’s. #1983 #WWC17”. The Indian Men’s team won their maiden World Cup title way back in 1983 at this iconic Lord’s Ground and Manjrekar was hopeful of a repeat of 1983.
Backing India to win tomorrow. It's after all a World Cup final against a strong team & it's at Lord's.?
#1983#WWC17— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) July 22, 2017
The 1983 World Cup victory changed the whole complexion of the game in the country and if the Women’s team do manage to win tomorrow it will be a historic achievement on their part which might pave the way for improvement and betterment in Women’s cricket. The Indian Colts have performed brilliantly in the tournament despite not many giving them a chance to qualify for the final.
They began with a resounding victory against hosts England and followed it up with victories against West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan but successive losses to Australia and South Africa put them in a precarious situation before they came back strongly and humbled the Kiwis in their last must win group game to take India to the semi finals.
Opener Smriti Mandhana treated the crowd to some terrific strokeplay in the first couple of matches but since then she has failed to make a mark. Both Punam Raut and Mithali Raj have scored a century each and Harmanpreet Kaur’s whirlwind knock in the semi final will definitely keep the Indian Colts in good stead.
It was mayhem at the Derby on Thursday as Harmanpreet smashed the listless Aussie bowlers all around the park. It was a sensational power hitting from The Punjab girl and her unbeaten 171nof a mere 115 deliveries allowed India to post a daunting 282/4 in 42 overs in the rain curtailed encounter. Later on, the bowlers did the job for India as the Aussies fell short by 36 runs despite a valiant effort from Alex Blackwell.