Mithali Raj singles out the 2013 World Cup as the lowest point of her career
The 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup was the 10th edition of the tournament and was hosted by India. Australia won the tournament for the sixth time, beating West Indies by 114 runs in the final. The hosts, under the captaincy of Mithali Raj, started the tournament on a high, beating West Indies by 110 runs.
However, they lost their next two games – against England and Sri Lanka – and were eliminated before the Super Six stage.
The lowest point of Mithali Raj's career
Mithali Raj said that India's horrendous showing in the showpiece even was probably the lowest point in her career, even lower than the controversies she was involved in. Mithali Raj was involved in a controversy during the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20. Ramesh Powar, who was the Indian women's team head coach at the time, had accused Mithali Raj of threatening retirement over a batting position.
Powar had also alleged that Mithali Raj created chaos in the side and threw tantrums through the course of the tournament in West Indies. Mithali Raj had hit back at these accusations at the time and stated that she was deeply saddened and hurt because her commitment, years of hard work, and skill set were being doubted and brushed aside.
However, Raj singled out India's disappointing 2013 World Cup campaign as the lowest point of her career. Raj explained that the tournament was an 'ideal platform' to do well and for 'the sport to take wings' since India were the hosts of the tournament.
“Many people will think of controversies but for me that was not in my hand. That was something which happened and I just went through the whole thing. As a cricketer and captain, the lowest has to be the 2013 World Cup as it happened in India. Being the host team, we couldn’t qualify for the Super Six and it was a big platform to do well and showcase women’s cricket. At that point of time, I thought that was the ideal platform for the sport to take wings. I felt that I lost a chance there to take the game to a different level,” Mithali Raj was quoted as saying by Times of India.
Jhulan Goswami was India's leading wicket-taker during the competition, with nine wickets. While her bowling was exceptional, there was little contribution from the team as a whole.
India in the World Cups
In the ODI World Cup, the Indian team has made the final on two occasions, losing to Australia by 98 runs in 2005 and losing to England by nine runs in 2017. In the T20I World Cup, India’s best campaign was in 2020, when they ended as the runners-up after losing to Australia in the final.