"India played the sort of match they were expecting" - Gautam Gambhir on the women's team's World Cup win against Pakistan
Gautam Gambhir believes the Indian women's cricket team have gotten off to the best possible start at the ODI World Cup being played in New Zealand.
The Indian eves mauled Pakistan by 107 runs in their first match to start their campaign on a winning note. The Mithali Raj-led side scored 244/7 in their allotted 50 overs and then bowled out their western neighbors for 137 runs to register an emphatic win.
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India maintain their perfect record against Pakistan in Women’s ODI’s 👏🏻🏏
#INDvPAK #CWC22 #TeamIndia #TeamPakistan https://t.co/kUFNcKXaFX
During a discussion on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir was delighted by the Women in Blue's performance. He observed:
"The most important thing was that India played the sort of match they were expecting. India had lost six wickets at a score of 114 at one stage and then the sort of comeback they made, scored 244 runs and defeated Pakistan by such a huge margin."
The former India cricketer highlighted that the 2017 finalists will be happy to be tested in all departments. Gautam Gambhir explained:
"You want to play such a match at the start where your entire batting order is tested, your capability is tested, and you are also tested in the bowling department because it was not a huge total."
Team India were in a spot of bother when they were reduced to a score of 114/6 at the fall of Mithali Raj's wicket. However, Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana strung together a record 122-run seventh-wicket partnership to bail them out of trouble.
"India will keep getting better from here" - Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir reckons Team India bouncing back after an indifferent start will hold them in good stead. He elaborated:
"If it had been a one-sided match where your top order scored 250-275 runs, where your lower-middle order would not have got an opportunity, it would not have been a complete match. I believe India will keep getting better from here."
The cricketer-turned-politician was also asked about Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana's partnership in particular. Gambhir responded:
"It was a complete match from India's viewpoint. You have expectations from Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj or Harmanpreet. But such players who would not get such opportunities often, the sort of partnership they had and the pace at which they scored, I believe the entire batting lineup will get a lot of confidence from this."
Excellent start to the World Cup. Always good when so many players contribute. Love the balance that Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar provide.
Gautam Gambhir concluded by saying that Team India will become even more formidable once Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj start contributing with the bat.