The men’s team may have crashed out of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup but the women’s team has kept Indian hopes alive. They Lady Blues look to make the title round when they meet New Zealand in the first semifinal at Trent Bridge here on Thursday.
“The manager of the men’s team, V. Chamundeswarnath, called us up after our game against Sri Lanka and said ‘what we couldn’t do, you all should achieve’ as he wished us luck. We will strive to keep India’s flag flying in this tournament,” said team manager Diana Eduljee, pioneer of women’s cricket in India. Captain Jhulan Goswami nodded vigorously in approval.
That their match would precede the men’s semifinal and will be shown live on television would be a bonus for the women, who do not have a fan following to match the men’s.
“It’s a big thing for women’s cricket. Our friends and family will be able to watch us and that will be an inspiration for us. The players are excited. Hopefully, we will be able to draw youngsters to the game,” Jhulan said on Wednesday.
To do that, Jhulan knows her team will have to dish out top drawer stuff. She is banking on a couple of stars to pull it off though. “Mithali Raj is the best batswoman in the world right now. She is the mainstay of our batting and the longer she is at the wicket, the better our chances of winning tomorrow’s game,” she said of the Hyderabad star. Mithali had stroked an unbeaten 32 to earn a crucial win over Sri Lanka in the last Super Eight game. She palyed three classical cover drives — two fours and a single — in the penultimate over to finish a game which had its share of tense batting moments. “I didn’t do my job in the earlier games so it was time to do something for the team. I put everything into those two boundaries at the end,” said Mithali.
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