<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/jul/Mithali-Raj-bandana.jpg" alt="" />India skipper Mithali Raj during a training session ahead of the Women&rsquo;s World Cup final against England at Lord&rsquo;s on Saturday. Pic/ Getty Images
History beckons the Indian women's cricket team when it takes on England in the ICC World Cup final today, aiming to cap a fairytale run with a maiden title triumph and put some past demons to rest.
The Mithali Raj-led squad have been living a dream in the tournament, the biggest moment of which has been the 36-run win over six-time champions Australia in the semi-finals. And the side will look to ensure that its gritty campaign reaches the logical conclusion after putting in the hard yards consistently in the tournament.
Slope, no fear The famous slope at Lord's will come into play, but Mithali didn't seem to perturbed. "We don't play at Lord's that often but when I last played here, the slope wasn't really in my mind. If you start thinking too much about the slope and how the ball is going to curve in or curve out, then you forget the fundamentals of your own batting," she said.
"We need to keep it as simple as we have been throughout the tournament and see where it takes us in the final. Looking at the wicket, it looks full of runs and any venue where you've scored runs previously always gives you confidence. It gives you confidence but you have to have that focus and put in the work to score your runs," she added.
India's best performance in the event has been a runners-up finish in the 2005 edition, where the team had lost to Australia in the final. With Australia out of the way now, tomorrow could prove to be the moment that changes the course of women's cricket in India.
Can 1983 be repeated? It was at this historic Lord's Cricket Ground, where the men's team took its game-changing world title in 1983 with an upset win over the invincible West Indies and gradually grew into a cricketing and financial powerhouse in the world.
A win has the potential to do the same for women's cricket in India, where they have had to arrange funds for overseas tours in the past. It is only the second time that India will have a shot at the world title. Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj were part of the runners-up team in 2005 and today will be their last chance to be a World Cup winner.
"We are all very excited to be part of the World Cup final. We knew this tournament wasn't going to be easy but the way the girls have turned up at every situation when the team needed," Raj said. If India win, they will become only the fourth team to do so with England, Australia and New Zealand sharing all the preceding titles.

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Home / Sports / Cricket / Article / Will Mithali Raj-led Indian eves continue their dream run in final?

Will Mithali Raj-led Indian eves continue their dream run in final?

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