Team India was in touching distance of realising its dream of lifting the coveted World Cup at the iconic Lord’s on Sunday (July 23). Mithali Raj & Co. were in command of the proceedings at the Home of Cricket against England for majority of the time in the match but the hosts’ experience saw them making a brilliant fightback to prevail in the thrilling encounter.
Mithali Raj & Co., despite losing the toss on a good batting pitch, did extremely well to restrict England to 228 for 7 in the allotted 50 overs. Veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami was the star of the show, taking 3 for just 23 in her 10 overs including the wickets of set Sarah Taylor (45) and Natalie Sciver (51).
In reply, India went off to a poor start with Smriti Mandhana (0) failing once again and Mithali Raj’s (17) innings cut short due to a run out. However, a 95-run stand between Punam Raut (86) and Harmanpreet Kaur (51) before a 53-run stand between the former and Veda Krishnamurthy (35) put India on course for the win. But once Raut was dismissed by Anya Shrubsole, India lost their last 6 wickets for just 28 runs to lose the game by just 9 runs.
While the defeat is a hard pill to digest, there is absolutely no denying that the ladies have made India extremely proud with their outstanding performance in the tournament. They had defeated the likes of England, New Zealand and defending champions Australia in the tournament to make it to the final. And India opener Gautam Gambhir rightly said that the Women in Blue made the whole country believe and that it was an honour to watch them play.
“You made us dream, You made us believe, We’re proud of all you girls! Real honor to hve watched u play!,” the 35-year old tweeted.
You made us dream,
You made us believe,
We're proud of all you girls!
Real honor to hve watched u play! #WWC17Final #WomenInBlue @BCCIWomen— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) July 23, 2017