Mithali Raj on World Cup heartbreak: India panicked under pressure

Tags: Women’s World Cup 2017, India Women, England Women, Mithali Raj

Published on: Jul 24, 2017

India heartbreakingly fell short of lifting the ICC Women’s World Cup by 9 runs. And while captain Mithali Raj praised

India heartbreakingly fell short of lifting the ICC Women’s World Cup by 9 runs. And while captain Mithali Raj praised England for the victory, she also admitted that India fell short as the panicked under pressure owing to their inexperience.

"It wasn't easy for England but credit to them for holding their nerve. There was as time when the match was in the balance and could have gone either way. But that was the situation when we panicked and they came out victorious. England did well in those crunch moments which turned the game," Mithali said while speaking at the post match presentation.

India were chasing a target of 229, and were-placed to win at one stage only to give it up in the end. Punam Raut scored 86 runs from 115 balls while Harmanpreet Kaur made 51 off 80. However, India lost seven wickets for just 28 runs to be all out for 219.

Mithali however praised her players, especially Jhulan Goswami. "I want to tell my girls that I am very proud of them, the way made a comeback into the tournament. They didn't make any match easy for any of the other teams. I would also like to thank the crowds for coming up in large numbers to support women's cricket," she said.

"Jhulan is an experienced bowler and has always delivered when the team required and gave her best performance. Her bowling spell could have turned into a match winning one but I knew England had a lot of depth in their batting.

"Our team was bit inexperienced as they playing their first World Cup final. But I think all the youngsters tried their best. I think this experience will help them in the future," she added.

"I do see myself playing for a couple of years but I don't see myself playing another World Cup," Raj concluded.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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