"It took a lot of time to get over it, we didn't expect to exit this way" - Yastika Bhatia on India's heartbreaking end to World Cup

The Indian team was gutted after their exit from 2022 Women's World Cup. (P.C.:ICC)

It was a dream for India's Yastika Bhatia to win the World Cup for her country. The 21-year-old was highly excited when she got a call-up to the Indian squad for the showpiece event earlier this year.

Although the World Cup didn't pan out the way she would have liked, Bhatia still feels she has learned a lot. She believes that will keep her in good stead going forward.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Yastika Bhatia spoke about her entire journey at the 2022 Women's World Cup in New Zealand. She opened up on the high-octane game against Pakistan and said:

"The match against Pakistan had a lot of hype. I was excited and although I didn't get to play, I felt really great supporting my team from the outset and the way they strung partnerships."

Yastika Bhatia on opening the batting with Smriti Mandhana

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In the very next game against West Indies, Shafali Verma was dropped and Bhatia got the call-up to open the batting alongside the talented Smriti Mandhana. The 21-year-old shared her emotions on batting alongside her idol. She recalled:

"I got to open the next match with Smriti and it was a dream come true for me. Since childhood I have been watching her and she is like an idol for me. We had a great partnership against the West Indies and from there the team had got a great momentum. Everyone appreciated me in the dressing room for the intent with which I played."

She smashed back-to-back fifties in World Cup games against Australia and Bangladesh. Yastika Bhatia and India then needed a win against South Africa to progress to the semifinals.

🎤 In conversation with @YastikaBhatia & @SnehRana15 🎤

The two played pivotal roles as #TeamIndia sealed a win over Bangladesh in the #CWC22 & they came together for this interview 🎥 🔽 #INDvBAN https://t.co/RJ8Jakhe7t

Yastika Bhatia on World Cup exit and learnings

In a tense last-ball finish, Sune Luus and her Proteas team broke Indian hearts. Yastika Bhatia revealed what the atmosphere was like in the dressing room after such a heartbreaking loss. She said:

"Our morale went down (after World Cup exit) because we had given our best. The result changed on the last ball and it was shocking as we didn't expect to exit this way from the World Cup. It took a lot of time for us to get over it. Till 1-2 weeks everyone was playing it in their minds."

Bhatia added that senior players like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami and the coaching staff tried to cheer the girls up and showed great care for them. She said:

"It took time for everyone to digest it, but senior players like Mithali Di and Jhulu Di took care of the team very well. No one was willing to eat but Jhulu Di made everyone understand that such things happen in sport and one must eat food. Our coach, our sports psychologist spoke to us and we felt a bit better."

Despite a disappointing end to the Women's World Cup, Yastika Bhatia is looking forward to the future having been named in India's squad for the Sri Lanka tour. She feels it is important to carry whatever she has learnt from that World Cup with her to improve herself as a player. Bhatia concluded by saying:

"We gave our best in the World Cup and till our very last ball we didn't let anything go away easily. The result is not in our hands but the confidence that I got playing the games by opening and then coming one down, I would like to carry that in further games."

Yastika Bhatia has already scored three half-centuries in 13 ODIs and is certainly an important part of India's present and future.