For the second time, Indian Women's cricket team has made it's way to the Finals of the ICC women's World Cup 2017 by defeating Australia in the semi finals.
Star player Harmanpreet Kaur's 171-run knock off 115 balls helped India beat Australia in the Semi Finals and step into the World Cup final. India will now face England in the finals.
Opting to bat, India were 35 for 2 when a timely 171-run knock (not out) by vice-captain Harmanpreet took her side to 281 for 4 in 42-overs aside contest in the semi-finals against India. The bowlers responded well to restrict Australia to 245; thereby enabling an easy win. (cricketcountry.com)
Seeing the team's performance in the semi finals, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is confident that the Indian Women's team will beat England to lift the ICC Women's World Cup 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17x1LRfrF10
Record breakers in the team
Captain of the team, Mithali Raj is the youngest centurion in the history of women's ODI to score 114 runs in her ODI debut in 1999 against Ireland at the age of 16. Raj has evolved since then and was quick to become the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket and the only female cricketer to surpass the 6,000 run mark in ODIs. She is also the first player to score 7 consecutive 50s in ODIs.
Jhulan Goswami another precious player of our Indian Cricket Team is in one of the top echelons of world cricket with her formidable bowling attack. Jhulan scripted history as the highest wicket-taker in women's ODIs with 192 wickets (as of today). (newsbytesapp.com)
The all-round prodigy Deepti Sharma, has already entered the record books for the highest ODI opening partnership (320 runs), with Poonam Raut. The 19-year-old also holds the record for the second highest score in women's ODIs (188). The youngster who debuted in 2014, also contributes with the ball and has 40 wickets in her kitty. In the semi finals against Australia, she took three wickets.(newsbytesapp.com)
Batswoman Smriti Mandhana proved her mettle with two back-to-back impressive innings in the beginning of the World Cup. The 21-year-old left-hander incidentally was the only player to be named in the ICC Women's Team of the Year last year. (newsbytesapp.com)
Bowler Rajeshwari Gayakwad in her first match of the 2017 World Cup finished with a career best of 5 for 15, against New Zealand. (newsbytesapp.com)
Harmanpreet's knock in the semi finals against Australia was hailed as the best ever played by an Indian woman in limited-overs cricket. Kaur has also become the first Indian cricketer - male or female - to be signed by the Big Bash League, Australia. (newsbytesapp.com)
India's turnaround looked improbable when they were laid low by two consecutive defeats to South Africa and Australia. It gave fodder for critics to take swipe at India's inability to finish off crucial games in big tournaments. However, the back-to-back wins have given India supreme confidence, and Captain Mithali Raj has sounded a warning shot to the hosts ahead of Sunday's summit clash. "It definitely isn't going to be easy for England. But it will come down to how we perform on that day. We really have to work on our planning and strategy because England has also peaked after being defeated by us in the first game." (indianexpress.com)
The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2017 finale takes place on 23rd July at Lord's in London and cricket fans from all over the world are eagerly waiting to see which team will finally lift the World Cup.