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Mithali ton sinks Pak, India finish 7th

Skipper Mithali Raj finally came good with an unbeaten century as Indian women beat arch-rivals Pakistan by six wickets in a seventh place play-off encounter in the ICC Women’s World Cup on Thursday.

Already out of contention after being hammered by Sri Lanka, the ‘Women in Blue’ came up with a much improved performance as they first restricted Pakistan to 192 for seven in 50 overs and then reached the target in 46 overs at the Barabati Stadium.

Skipper Mithali, who had been in woefully out of form, helped herself back into form with an unbeaten 103 off 141 balls with the help of 13 boundaries and a six. The only regret she would have is that her best came when it mattered the least.

Mithali added 87 runs for the unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Reema Malhotra, who remained undefeated on 25. The Indian women were in a spot of bother at 108 for four but the Indian captain found an able ally in Malhotra as they comfortably won their last game of the tournament with consummate ease. Mithali also enjoyed couple of useful stands of 43 and 49 with opener Thirush Kamini (26) and Harmanpreet Kaur (16).

Earlier, the decision to bat first after winning the toss didn’t quite work for Pakistan, who were saved to a large extent due to the contrasting half-centuries from Nain Abidi (58) and Nida Dar (68 not out). The Indians bowlers, led by the economical pace duo of Jhulan Goswami (2-17) and Nagarajan Niranjana (3-35), kept it tight for most part of the 50 overs. The hosts, who were knocked out of the event after being stunned by minnows Sri Lanka in a must-win group match, were off to a perfect start when they sent back the Pakistani openers with just 28 runs on the board in 11 overs.


EXCITING CONTEST ON CARDS AS SA EVES MEET WEST INDIES

All eyes will be on South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp and West Indies opener Stefanie Taylor when the two sides square off in a Super Six contest of the ICC Women’s World Cup on Thursday.

Both teams entered the Super Six phase having ended third in their respective groups. On paper, there is not much to choose between the sides as both are on even keel having won one and lost two during the group league stage. The striking similarity between the performance of the two teams is that the singular victory that they notched were in facile manner. West Indies girls whipped Sri Lanka by 209 runs which helped them enjoy a better run quotient than India. This was possible because of opener Taylor’s brilliant 174 while Proteas all-rounder Kapp scored a century and took three wickets during here team’s 126-run win over Pakistan.
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