Cricket can be crucial at times and India’s women team would certainly agree with it. From playing the qualifiers, and losing two consecutive games in the group stage, the Women in Blue had defied all the odds to make it to the final. And India’s valiant ladies were looking set to lay their hands on the coveted title before a dramatic collapse shattered their dreams as they fell short by just 9 runs against England at the iconic Lord’s.
But their stupendous performances throughout the tournament have won praise from all over and captain Mithali Raj has admitted that the fight back shown by the team was new for every member of the team. India had stunned one an all with their performance in the very first game when they defeated hosts England.
In the following three games they defeated reigning World T20 champions West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to send out a statement of intent. However, defeats against South Africa and Australia threatened to derail the promising campaign but Mithali Raj & Co. bounced back in style, thrashing New Zealand in the do-or-die game and defending champions Australia in the semi-final to make it to the final.
The amazing fight back has left everyone pleasantly surprised and Mithali is no different.
“It’s something new for all of us to come back into the tournament from two defeats (against South Africa and Australia). The girls have really shown a fearless brand of cricket, a very confident brand of cricket. That is something we need to continue to do and improve on that,” Mithali told India Today.
Speaking on players’ reaction after the heartbreaking loss in the final, she said: “None of the players would have had good sleep after the defeat on Sunday. It will take time for all of us to accept it and make peace with it.
Mithali has already made it clear that this was her last World Cup and she said she is now focusing on helping India earn a direct qualification for the next World Cup.
“I haven’t given it much thought. But as the runners-up in the World Cup, it’s important that we need to again start grooming players for the next edition. The journey has to start in a couple of months time. Now it is important for us to maintain our No. 2 position and have a direct entry. For that, we need to be in the top four in the ICC Championship.
“If I’m playing for a few more years that would be my aim to see that the team doesn’t have to play the qualifiers unlike this time,” she concluded.