Harmanpreet batted like a woman possessed, says Diana Edulji

Sunday is a historical day for Indian cricket considering the fact that the Indian Women’s team has made it to the finals of the Women’s World Cup 2017, only the second time that they have become finalists in the history of this tournament. Team India is now set to face the same opponents they started their campaign against, England. Though they were successful in beating the hosts in the group stage, they cannot be written off at all.

India’s best performance in this event was when they reached the finals and lost to Australia in 2005. Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, who played that tournament will now like to ensure that they don’t endure the same result like it happened 12 years ago and end their last World Cup on a high. With the defending champions, having knocked out Australia the defending champs of the tournament in the semi-finals, it’s time for the Women in Blue to clinch the title and create history at Lord’s, the Home of Cricket.

Diana Edulji, former Indian women’s skipper and current member of the CoA (Committee of Advisory), has shared her views on the Indian players’ journey so far in the tournament. “I’m glad that the team has reached the finals, the entire team has played excellent cricket. In every game, there is a new player arising,” Edulji said.

Backbone of the team

Mithali Raj has spent 18 years in the Indian women’s team now and the fact that there’s a lot of cricket left in her even now cannot be debated. Playing the anchor’s role in 5 out of 8 innings in the World Cup, she has been the captain who leads from the front.

“Mithali has been the backbone of the team. We sent a message to the team to go, enjoy yourself and don’t worry about the result. If you play well, you will win,” she told India TV. “All the best to the Indian women’s cricket team, you’ve done the country proud and done the women’s cricket proud,” the former skipper added.

On being asked about the players’ performance so far in the tournament, Edulji expressed: “Initially we targetted the semi-final spot because that would be a big achievement its self because there were 4,5 teams in the reckoning.”

Harmanpreet’s brilliance

Threading past Australia was never going to be easy, Harmanpreet Kaur was at her best against them as she played a masterclass. On the victory against Australia, the CoA member said: “Nobody thought we could thrash Australia when we lost to them by 8 wickets in a league game. That was an outstanding performance. I have not seen any innings such as Harmanpreet’s execution in my playing career. I was also a big hitter but definitely not like her. She was unstoppable. A woman possessed as she played on the field,” she concluded.