Indian women’s cricket team skipper Mithali Raj recalled the last ball thriller against South Africa while chasing down the target of 244 during the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup Qualifier game in Colombo on February 21, before saying World Cup is always a challenge for all teams.
The 34-year-old Mithali credited team’s all-round effort stating the second wicket partnership of 124 runs between Deepti Sharma and Mona Mesharam kept the Women in Blue in hunt from the word go.
The right-handed batswoman Mithali on Tuesday missed the World Cup Qualifier final after suffering a muscle strain.
“The Qualifier is a different standard to what we will face in the World Cup in England. The conditions will be different, the pressure is different, double or treble what we faced here. This will give a base for all the young players rather than go into World Cup raw,” Mithali told DNA.
The Johdpur-born Mithali sustained the injury during the Super Sixes game against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 19.
The 19-year-old left-handed batswoman Deepti Sharma topped the World Cup Qualifiers run- chart by scoring 253 in six matches.
“It was a good game because South Africa also played good cricket. We almost lost that, didn’t we? To chase down 244, a lot of credit should be given to Mona Meshram and Deepti Sharma. A lot of credit goes to these two. If not for that partnership (124 for second wicket), we would not have chased that many,” Mithali added
India required nine runs off the last over and anxious Mithali went on to see the scoreboard -reading eight runs required off the last two balls.
“When it came for eight from two balls I still had the hope. If it was someone else, it would not have been possible. Since we had a top-order batter in Harman [Harmanpreet] at the crease, she made it possible.” Mithali said.
However, Veda Krishnamurthy (31) and Harmanpreet Kaur (41) chipped in with crucial knocks to keep the scoreboard ticking despite losing wickets.
“Later on, with chipping in with useful runs, the fours here and there at crucial times kept the scoreboard moving. Though we lost wickets, the odd boundaries kept us in the hunt,” Mithali remarked.
“Actually, against Pakistan, it was a very important toss to win. The P Sara Oval pitch was probably a little soft. There was a lot of moisture in that wicket compared to other matches we played,” Mithali said after winning all eight matches in the tournament.
Mithali scored 73*, 70* and 64 in three matches of the WC tournament qualifier.
“These youngsters are gaining experience and making use of the opportunities. At some point, it will help me be relieved of responsibility because World Cup is such a high pressure tournament,” Mithali concluded.
After making her international debut in 1999, Mithali has played 172 One-day Internationals and has scored 5,614 runs at an average of 51.03, with five hundreds and 43 fifties.
In 10 Tests, Mithali has scored 663 runs at an average of 51.03 with a century and four half-centuries.