India beat England, NZ, they won’t fear Australia
If I were a gambler, I’d have had my money on New Zealand to beat India in that crucial last ICC Women’s World Cup group match, but that victory will have given India so much confidence. India beat the Kiwis in such a high-pressure game, Mithali Raj scored a great hundred under real pressure, Veda Krishnamurthy scored 70 off 40-odd balls and then to bowl New Zealand out for 79 was an incredible feat. That bodes well for India, who thoroughly deserve to be in the semifinals. It will also do a huge amount for the tournament that India have progressed.
There will be a big crowd at Derby and India will be delighted to have the match there as they have won all four games they have played at that ground and it’s become ‘Fortress Derby’ for them. Australia haven’t played in Derby yet so it’s going to be one real cracker of a semifinal.
Australia beat India comfortably in the group phase, but there’s something about this India side. It is not backing down. When the pressure is on, its players are really coming to the fore, it is a confident team and one that is backing itself and that’s what I’ve always wanted this Indian team to do. It won’t fear anyone, it has already beaten England, it has won against a good New Zealand team and the next one on its list is Australia, so beware the Aussies!
Mithali
Raj has gone past my runs record in ODIs in this World Cup, become the first player to break the 6,000run barrier and she’s one hell of a player. She’s shown that throughout this tournament. Records are there to be broken and it’s fitting that she did it. To then score a century in the next game shows what pure class Mithali is.
The lure of a Lord’s final is huge and we will now see what these teams are made of. This is real pressure now, we’re at the business end, the World Cup is within reach and there are no second chances. We will see who deals with that pressure the best.