Their moment under the sun

London, July 24

India skipper Mithali Raj was today chosen as the captain of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 team by the International Cricket Council.

The 34-year-old Indian was selected as the captain after she led India to the final of the just-concluded ICC Women’s World Cup. India lost to England by nine runs in one of the most thrilling finals at the Lord’s. Mithali led by example, scoring 409 runs during the 30-day tournament.

She was at her best in a virtual quarterfinal against New Zealand in Derby when she scored 109 to steer her side into the semifinals with a 186-run victory.

Her other notable scores in the tournament were 71 against England in the tournament opener in Derby, 46 against the West Indies in Taunton, 53 against Sri Lanka in Derby and 69 against Australia in Bristol.

Besides Mithali, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma were the other two Indians included in the ICC’s team. The side includes four players from England — Player of the Tournament Tamsin Beaumont, Player of the Final Anya Shrubsole, wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor and left-arm spinner Alex Hartley,  three from South Africa that included opener Laura Wolvaardt and bowlers Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk, and Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry. England’s Natalie Sciver, who scored 369 runs and took seven wickets, was chosen as the 12th player. Mithali, Taylor and Shrubsole have been picked in the Team of the Tournament for the second time in their careers.

Mithali and Taylor were in the team of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009, which England won in Sydney in 2009, while Shrubsole was in the team of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013, which Australia won in India in January/February 2013. — PTI

Time right for women’s IPL

Mithali Raj said the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), in which Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur have played, has helped the two immensely and called for more such leagues to provide exposure and experience to other women cricketers as well. “If you ask me, BCCI should have IPL because now is the right time to create that base. Women’s cricket is everywhere and they have put up a much better standard than the last World Cup,” she said. BCCI is planning a grand felicitation for the team, which won a billion hearts despite a heartbreaking loss in the World Cup final. The team is scheduled to return home in batches from Wednesday onwards. — PTI

STAR PERFORMERS

Jhulan calls on team to look ahead

Fast bowler Jhulan Goswami has called on her team to shake off the loss and look ahead to working on bettering themselves. “The important thing is that nobody thought we would be finalists,” Goswami said. “We performed and started to believe in ourselves after the first match and everybody tried to contribute. As a team, we believed that if we did well we could do it our way. We must enjoy this journey, the whole team must enjoy the way we played. Unfortunately, this one was not to go our way. We’ve had people perform individually but when it comes to a group there are things that we can work on,” she added. 

34 Year-old Jhulan Goswami picked up 10 wickets in the tournament and bowled a dream spell in the final to finish with figures of 3/23

Deepti Sharma

The 19-year-old was India’s highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 12 scalps and also contributed with 219 runs, including two half-tons

Harmanpreet Kaur

The 28-year-old from Moga decimated the defending champions Australia with an unbeaten knock of 171 runs in the semifinals. She scored two half-centuries in the tournament, including one in the final. The all-rounder picked up five wickets with her part-time off spin. The vice-captain of the team is expected to take over the reigns of the team once Mithali Raj decides to hang her boots

Punam Raut

India’s second highest run scorer in the tournament with 381 runs in nine matches. The right-handed opener scored a century against Australia in the league phase and was India’s highest scorer in the final against England.

"Feel for all of you, Women In Blue! You were good throughout but sometimes it is not meant to be. Congrats England on winning WWC17 final!" — Sachin Tendulkar