Mithali Raj says her team is bowled over by the grand reception they received on their return after finishing second in the Women's World Cup
The joyous team pose for photographers during the function. Pics/Satej Shinde
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Overwhelmed at the reception received by the Indian women's cricket team on their return, both at the airport and also during the meet-and-greet session organised by the BCCI at a city hotel here yesterday, skipper Mithali Raj said that 'it's the beginning of good times for women's cricket'.
Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj talks to the media during a meet-and-greet session of the Women in Blue at a city hotel yesterday
Grand welcome
The Indian team landed in Mumbai in the wee hours of Wednesday morning after finishing second behind England in the ICC Women's World Cup. The team played some excellent cricket through out the tournament before losing a nail-biting final to the hosts by just nine runs.
"It's overwhelming to see such a reception. It's a first of a kind for all of us. I experienced an almost similar scenario when we reached the final in 2005, but we were not part of BCCI at that time. Now that we are part of the Indian board, it has certainly made a huge lot of difference. The girls must have enjoyed this kind of reception this time. It is just the beginning of good times for women's cricket," said Mithali.
"They always deserved it. I always believed that if more matches are televised, we could attract more people," added Mithali.
The skipper also said that high standard performance of all teams at the World Cup has definitely made a positive impact on the game globally.
Smriti Mandhana
Smriti disappointed
One of the star performers of the team, Smriti Mandhana, was however a little disappointed that she couldn't replicate the form of the first two matches (where she scored 90 and an unbeaten 106 against England and West Indies respectively) in the later part of the tournament.
"After the first two matches, I played the other games with the same confidence level but my shot selection was not right and I was disappointed with that. I played a lot of rash shots that got me out. Except in the final, where I was out to a good ball, I had always gifted my wicket, it was pathetic," said the left-handed opener from Mumbai.
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