It was the iconic Lord’s where India’s men team won its first major silverware in One-Day Internationals, beating the mighty West Indies to lift the first World Cup and if everything goes well this coming Sunday (July 23), then the Mecca of cricket will also be the ground where India’s women team wins its first World Cup. The Women in Blue had made it to the final in 2005 but were totally outplayed by Australia but Mithali Raj & Co. will have a chance to create history when they take on hosts England.
Team India is brimming with confidence after blowing away New Zealand and the widely touted favourites Australia in the last two games and enter the semi final with their confidence sky high. Jhulan Goswami, who was a part of the team that played the final in 2005, is excited to play the all-important clash at the Home of Cricket and perhaps will want to correct the mistakes that happened when India last played a World Cup decider.
“We all are very excited. We are playing a final after almost 12 years. We are looking forward to playing some good cricket,” Goswami said. “Lord’s has a lot of history. Very special moment for all of us. We didn’t perform the way we wanted to perform in the last three World Cups, so this is a moment we are going to cherish for some time.”
India have already defeated England in this tournament once but Goswami rightly said that it is past now. Well, the way Australia were thrashed by India in the semifinal after winning the group game against the same opponents by 8-wickets, India should not be complacent going into the title-decide.
“Whatever has happened in the past is history. It’s a fresh game. As a team, we are going to enjoy this moment and we want to do well. We just want to focus on the process without worrying about the result. Because this is going to be a rare moment,” she said.
And while Goswami urged for a cautious approach, her young teammate Veda Krishnamurthy recalled the win over England at Lord’s in 2012 and sounded pretty confident.
“It’s going to be a privilege for us. I have played at Lord’s before and we’ve got good memories there. We beat England at Lord’s. So we are looking forward to the final,” said Veda.
“I think England should be under pressure because they are playing at home. For us, we have nothing to lose. We are going to their territory and if we can pull it off, nothing better than that,” she concluded.