Happy to be part of final again: Mithali

NEW DELHI: Mithali Raj knows it will be a special occasion for her and Jhulan Goswami when India take part in their second Women’s Cricket World Cup final, 12 years after losing the summit clash.

India were beaten by Australia back in 2005 but banished those demons by knocking out the reigning World Champions in a dramatic semifinal in Derby.

That 36-run win earned India a spot at the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017 final where they will face hosts England in front of a sold-out at the home of cricket in London.

This will be the India captain’s last Women’s Cricket World Cup and she’s determined to make it extremely difficult for England to earn their third tournament success on home soil.

“For me and Jhulan (Goswami) it is special because we are the only players from 2005 still with the team and for us it feels like going back to 2005. 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 girls have turned up at every situation when the team needed!” said Mithali.

“I’m so happy the girls have given us an opportunity again to be part of the World Cup final. It definitely is not going to be easy for England, but having beaten Australia, I am sure the girls are on a high but it will boil down to how we perform on the day. Playing the hosts is going to be a challenge but this unit is up for it.”

England have gone seven games unbeaten to reach Lord’s, but captain Heather Knight believes there is still more to come from her side.

“We keep finding ways to win at the moment, we haven’t quite put the perfect performance, we’d readily admit that. There’s still one game to go and if we put a perfect performance in then, I’ll be very happy captain.”