Press Trust of India
Bangalore, March 14: Riding high on their recent series wins over Australia and Sri Lanka, a confident India will look to continue their rich vein of form when they take on Bangladesh in their opening encounter of the Women’s World Twenty20 here Tuesday.
India are tipped to at least reach the last four at the World T20, following their recent run of form, which included a historic 2-1 win over World Champions Australia in January and a 3-0 clean sweep against Sri Lanka in February. However, in the last two editions of the tournament, the eves failed to reach the semis.
Skipper Mithali Raj will be looking to bank on seven players who had featured in the last edition in 2014, especially Jhulan Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur, who have played in all four previous World T20s. However, the skipper was quick to point out here Monday that all the 11 would have to contribute big if India were to fulfil their ambitions of winning their maiden title.
“In a T20 game, everybody has to be a major contributor,” Mithali stated. “It is such a format where a six saved can turn out to be your lifeline. There is no time to relax and everyone will have to be on their toes,” she added.
Mithali, who is the highest run-getter for India and one of the 13 in the world to score 1000-plus runs in T20s, will look to continue her good form. Since the 2014 T20 Worlds, the Indian captain has scored 183 runs with a strike rate of 103.50. The others who can contribute are Kaur and Jhulan Goswami, who is India’s highest wicket-taker in T20s with 44 scalps.
On the other hand, the Jahanara Alam-led Bangladesh know that they have an uphill task on hand. But they are determined to make a positive impression.
“India are the strongest team in the competition because of their recent performances,” stated Jahanara. “But we as a team believe that nothing is impossible.”