ICC Women’s World Cup: Confident India face West Indies | Cricket - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

ICC Women’s World Cup: Confident India face West Indies

Taunton | ByHT Correspondent
Jun 28, 2017 11:46 PM IST

India registered an impressive victory in their ICC Women’s World Cup opener against England, with openers Poonam Raut and Smriti Mandhana leading the way.

India captain Mithali Raj insists her side is in a confident mood after its opening victory over hosts England, as they prepare to face the West Indies in Taunton on Thursday.

India's Smrti Mandhana celebrates her fifty against England in the ICC Women’s World Cup.(Action Images via Reuters)
India's Smrti Mandhana celebrates her fifty against England in the ICC Women’s World Cup.(Action Images via Reuters)

India scored an impressive 281/3 in their ICC Women’s World Cup opener against England, with openers Poonam Raut (86) and Smriti Mandhana (90) leading the way. It was the highest score the team has ever put on when batting first and Raj believes that will give her side plenty of confidence for the rest of the tournament.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Deepti Sharma also took 3/47 as India bowled England out for 246. Yet the skipper is adamant her side will improve as the ICC Women’s World Cup progresses – starting against the West Indies.

“We won against the hosts in the World Cup when we have only 4-5 girls who have played in a World Cup before – for the rest, it was their first World Cup. So considering all those factors, it’s great that the team has done well but it’s only the first game,” Raj said.

READ | Mithali Raj says reading before batting helps her remain calm

“We still have six more games in the group stage, so I just hope the girls continue this form. All games are going to be very close and intense. I hope that the team really improves over the coming matches.”

Raj was particularly pleased with how her opening batters went about their job against England as Raut and Mandhana put on 144 before the loss of the first wicket, seeing out over half the team’s overs.

“They (Raut and Mandhana) just played each ball on its merit and kept going to 25 overs. Half of our overs were played by our openers, which is a great stand and we are now looking for similar opening partnerships in the coming games,” she added.

“If you have a solid opening partnership then the middle order can carry on from there, which makes it much easier to post 250 and above. That’s always a good score in a game of women’s cricket.”

For the West Indies, the losing finalists from the 2013 event and the reigning ICC Women’s World Twenty20 champions, they know they will need to improve their 50-over game if it is to progress beyond the group stages.

Hayley Matthews top scored for West Indies with 46 as they were bowled out for 204 in their eight-wicket loss to Australia here.

READ | Mithali Raj smashes world record as India beat England in ICC Women’s World Cup opener

And batter Chedean Nation knows the West Indies must concentrate on building partnerships in order to post a more competitive total.

“We need to focus on partnerships. We saw the Australians got one big partnership at the top (171 between Beth Mooney and Nicole Bolton) but unfortunately we didn’t capitalise on our partnerships. Hopefully we can do that against India and it can make a difference,” Nation said.

“We know we have work to do but the girls are working really hard in the nets and it’s just unfortunate we ended up on the losing side against Australia, but we’ll bounce back for sure against India.”

Unlock a world of Benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts and a personalized news feed – it's all here, just a click away!- Login Now!
Catch all the Latest Cricket News, Live Cricket Score and IPL 2024 Schedule, match updates along with Cricket Schedule, Purple Cap in IPL 2024, Orange Cap in IPL 2024 and other related updates on Hindustan Times Website and APPs
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On