Women's WT20: Proud of my girls, says Indian captain Mithali Raj after exit

India women's skipper Mithali Raj hails team’s fighting qualities despite exit after loss to West Indies

Mohali: The Indian women’s team have been knocked out of the ICC World T20 yesterday after losing to West Indies by three runs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here. A win would have kept India’s chances of qualifying for the semi-final alive.

West Indies players celebrate after their victory over India during the Women’s World T20 match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali yesterday. Pic/PTI

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However, skipper Mithali Raj was proud of her team’s performance. "Though we could not make it to the semis, I am proud of the way the girls have fought in the last three games and got the team back into the game. There is always a slip-up in the game, but with this experience of having handled pressure, the girls will be able to do better in the coming tournaments," said Raj.

Mithali Raj

Chasing 115 to win, India managed to put up 111-9 in 20 overs. Although India lost a few early wickets, Anuja Patil (26) stitched two important partnerships with Smriti Mandhana (22) of 23 runs for the fourth wicket and a 31-run fifth wicket partnership with Jhulan Goswami (25). These stands kept India in the hunt. However, Goswami’s run out with India needing 12 to win, changed the course of the match. "At crucial times, it is important to know how to have a composed mind. In that run out, had Jhulan stood her end, we probably would have lost Shikha, but Jhulan was in good flow. That is the biggest difference between good sides and very good sides. We haven’t been able to do that," Raj said.

The Indian team were also poor as a fielding unit where they leaked at least 15 extra runs. "At such big events, it is very important to be consistent in the departments you are doing well in. As a fielding unit, we were inconsistent. When we thought we were squeezing them for runs, we let ourselves down with slip-ups through boundaries," signed
off Raj.

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