Sania Mirza Hails Mithali Raj, Calls Her An “Incredible Ambassador”
Jul 26, 2017 at 5:18 PM
Tennis star Sania Mirza has hailed Indian Women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj for India’s sensational performance in the recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 where they narrowly lost the final against hosts England by a mere 9 runs. Sania called Mithali an ‘incredible ambassador’ of the game. “Mithali (Raj) has been performing amazingly for many years; she is an incredible ambassador for the game of cricket,” Sania was quoted as saying by the ANI.
“I really hope this appreciation that all the girls are getting continues because they deserve it,” she further added. Mirza was part of the Wimbledon in the double’s category pretty recently but was thrashed in the 3rd round of the Women’s doubles category. Her opponents were her former partner Martina Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan.
The Indian Women’s team put up an inspired performance all through the tournament but failed to seize the opportunity in the final hurdle when it mattered the most. As Mithali Raj said that the cup was theirs but it was due to sheer panic which cost them the game and the World Cup. Chasing 229 to win, India was comfortably placed at 181/3 with Harmanpreet Kaur and Punam Raut going great guns but with the fall of Harman’s wicket, it was a procession for India as they lost their last 7 wickets for a mere 28 runs.
India began with four wins on a trot in the group stage and more importantly began with a resounding victory against eventual champions England in the opening game and followed it up with convincing performances against West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They were jolted after suffering couple of losses on a bounce against South Africa and Australia but came back strongly to outclass the Kiwis in the must win group game.
Mithali Raj went on to become the first women’s cricketer to smash more than 6,000 runs during the group game against the Aussies. She has undoubtedly been a great servant of the game and nearly 18 years at the top of the game is just a testimony of all the hard work and dedication she has shown all through her illustrious career.