ENG W vs IND W | Mithali Raj has been a fantastic servant of the game for 22 years, praises Ramesh Powar
Mithali made fifties in each of the ODIs
|Indian women's head coach Ramesh Powar has been left impressed with Mithali Raj and stated that she has been a great servant of the game for 22 years. He also added that Sneh Rana, who again played a good hand with the bat, has been the biggest find of the series for the tourists this series.
Two things that remained constant for Mithali Raj throughout the three-match ODI series between India and England women sides was - criticism and runs. With scores of 75*, 59, and 72 - the Indian skipper accumulated 206 runs at 103, while no other batter could even aggregate 150 runs from either side. However, her strike rate in the first two ODIs got her plenty of criticism. But, she shunned her critics in style as her strike-rate rose to 87.21 from 66.67 and 64.13 in the earlier ODIs and more importantly, led her side to a phenomenal win in the final ODI to save India from a clean sweep.
Ramesh Powar, who had not got on the right side of things with Mithali Raj in his earlier stint as the coach of the side, was left in awe of her at the end of the ODI series. He stated that she deserves all the praise and has been a great servant of the game for well over two decades.
"Mithali Raj deserves every praise in the world. She has been a fantastic servant of the game. 22 years of cricket and I think she is a role model for a lot of our girls. She single-handedly won us the game (3rd ODI). I can tell you, chasing 220 on a low-bounce track... she took us over the line," Powar said, reported India Today.
Sneh Rana, who had played a crucial role in India's epic draw in the one-off Test against England with the bat, continued to do well in the white-ball series. In the third ODI, she formed a crucial partnership of 50 runs with Mithali, adding 24 off 22. By the time, she got out, India had almost sealed the game. Reflecting on her displays, the Indian head coach said that she was the find of the series and can play well in pressure-cooker situations.
"Sneh Rana is the find of the series. The way she was bowling in Southampton, in the practice sessions, we thought we must give her a chance. The think tank thought it was a difficult decision to play two off-spinners in the XI but she just played her role to the core and I am really happy for her.
"Being an off-spinner myself, I can see the talent. She is a player who can play the crunch situations well and that's what we needed. In the big series, come up, we need players who can deliver under pressure," he added.
