SYDNEY (Australia): Former India Test and ODI captain Mithali Raj praised Poonam Yadav for her excellent bowling which helped India overcome defending champions Australia in the T20 World Cup opener on Friday.
“India and Australia both took the game their own way at different points which made it fascinating for spectators to watch. Yadav’s spell was the turning point. She’s been one of the main spinners for India for quite some time now, and her style worked again,” Mithali told ICC-cricket.com.
The 37-year-old said that the victory over the Aussies will give India huge confidence while also praising Shafali Verma (29 off 15) for her debut World Cup performance.
“She has impressed me. She gave India’s middle order the cushioning they needed to regain momentum. Verma has stuck with stroke play that she demonstrated in the tri-series. I think she should be given that free range in the first six overs because when you’re playing a top team, the runs in the first six overs are so important,” Mithali added.
“This World Cup is still very open. The match proved how competitive the tournament will be. It proves it doesn’t matter where you stand in the ICC rankings. Everyone has been talking about how much batting depth Australia have, yet they couldn’t chase 132.”
Mithali, who retired from T20I in September last year, felt India’s victory showed that every team has a chance to win the title.
“We will be seeing more of the same drama yet. This victory proves every team has a chance. It makes me so excited because back in my day, you could pick two or three teams who were guaranteed to make the knockout stages, but this time you can’t. Every team still has a chance. Every tournament has interesting games and upsets and this is just one of them,” said the Jodhpur-born cricketer.
