Mumbai-based India opening batswoman and the highest scorer against England in the ICC Women's World Cup final at Lord's, Punam Raut underwent mixed feelings at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
Punam Raut at CST airport yesterday. Pic/Subodh Mayure
Mumbai-based India opening batswoman and the highest scorer against England (86 runs) in the ICC Women's World Cup final at Lord's on Sunday, Punam Raut underwent mixed feelings at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Wednesday, when she, along with the other members of Team India, arrived to a rousing reception.
Pleasant surprise
Punam was pleasantly surprised to see a huge crowd that included members of Mumbai's U-23 and U-19 women's teams along with their selectors, coaches, officials, former India and Mumbai women's cricketers. Mumbai Cricket Association president Ashish Shelar and joint secretary Dr PV Shetty were also present to welcome the Indian women's team. Punam, however, was apologetic too at not being able to come back a world champion.
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A dramatic batting collapse saw India lose to England in the final by nine runs.
Also read: Mithali Raj and team bowled over by the grand reception at home
Fell short in the final
"I gave my 100 per cent in each and every match. Our goal was to win the final, but we couldn't achieve that. I express my apology to all Indians. I fell short in my attempt to win this World Cup for my country, but I assure you that the next time we will perform better and win," Raut, India's second-highest scorer of the tournament, totalling 381 runs, told mid-day at the airport.
The player of the tournament, England batswoman Tamsin Beaumont aggregated 410 runs while India captain Mithali Raj notched up 409 runs.
Raut's apologetic expression however immediately turned into a smile when she was garlanded by friends and fans at the airport.
'Good to feel welcome'
"Honestly, I didn't expect such a huge reception here. I expected a crowd, but not this large. This is way beyond my expectations and we are very pleased to see this positive response from people here despite our defeat in the final. It's nice to feel welcome," added Raut, who also scored a century in the tournament — 106 — in the league phase against Australia. Raut, 27, credited the team's performance to coach, Tushar Arothe and the support staff: "Though we lost the final, we beat teams like Australia, England and New Zealand, which is a big achievement. We are grateful to Tushar sir and the support staff for their guidance."
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