Press Trust of India
Bangalore, March 9: Indian women’s cricket team skipper Mithali Raj said Wednesday that their first aim is to qualify for the semifinals of the Women’s Twenty20
World Cup.
“We will treat all our group games as knockout matches. Our first aim is to qualify for the last four stage,” Mithali told reporters here.
“We are confident about our abilities. We had good series victories prior to the World Cup over Australia and Sri Lanka. Those wins have been a real confidence-booster. The form we are in, I am very optimistic that we will qualify for the seAmis,” the Indian skipper added.
Asked about the fielding concerns she raised of late, Mithali said fans would get to see a good show in the World Cup as her teammates had worked very hard and the overall fielding standards have improved.
When asked to comment on the toughest opponent in the event, Mithali said Australia even though India had beaten them recently. “Australia will be a tough fight for us, even though we have beaten them recently,” she said. “But then we are hopeful of maintaining the winning momentum against them.”
Sri Lanka captain Shashikala Siriwardena also picked Australia as the side to beat. “They (Australia) are playing very good cricket at the moment,” stated Siriwardena. “Definitely they have the potential to challenge any side.”
Ireland captain Isobel Joyce however, pointed out that not Australia but their Trans-Tasmanian rivals New Zealand are the side to look out for. “It doesn’t matter that Australia are playing good cricket at the moment. But my choice is the Kiwis. They are a potentially dangerous side,” said Joyce.
