World Cup pressure will be different, says Mithali Raj

How nervous were the final moments?

It was a good game because South Africa also played good cricket. We almost lost that, didn't we? To chase down 244, a lot of credit should be given to Mona Meshram and Deepti Sharma. If not for that partnership (124 for second wicket), we would not have chased that many. That stand set up the base for the rest of the players to go in and finish the job. A lot of credit goes to these two. Later on, with Veda Krishnamurthy (31) and Harmanpreet Kaur (41) chipping in with useful runs, the fours here and there at crucial times kept the scoreboard moving. Though we lost wickets, the odd boundaries kept us in the hunt.

Did you believe India would pull it with nine needed off last six balls, and 8 off the last two?

When it came for eight from two, Harmanpreet had to hit two fours or a six. Since it was Harman on strike, or even if it was Veda, these were the two who cold clear the boundary. I still had the hope. If it was someone else, it would not have been possible. Since we had a top-order batter in Harman at the crease, she made it possible.

How difficult was it to watch from the sidelines the anxious final moments?

When these went girls to bat, I was sitting with (No. 4) Veda. Having captained India for long, it is habitual to discuss with my mates and assess the bowling changes, the bowling changes, the field setting that the opposing captain would do. I was talking to Veda constantly. When the girls went in to bat, they were already in the mould of playing the match with a better sense of what was happening on the ground. Otherwise, if you leave it to youngsters, they build unnecessary pressure. Knowing the South African bowling, I felt the only had two bowlers – their new ball bowlers Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp. They bowled a tight line and did not ever go for more than 30 runs in 10 overs. The rest of their bowlers was just mediocre. We needed to see Shabnim and Marizanne off and cash in on the rest. When they have just two good bowlers, and their spin attack is not anywhere close to our spin attack, you need to hold your wickets.

And, your girls pulled it off in the end with the highest successful chase for India in ODIs...

Yes. SA did not expect us to chase 240. I felt they were too attacking when the Deepti-Mona partnership was going. When the asking rate came to 6 an over, they did not save boundaries. They gave away too many boundaries that the batters did not have to plan differently. These youngsters played according to the merit of the ball.

The win also proved India could win without you in the 11…

In a way it was good. These girls needed to step up. It would leave a big void later if they fully depended on me. These youngsters are gaining experience and making use of the opportunities. At some point, it will help me be relieved of responsibility because World Cup is such a high pressure tournament.

How good was Harmanpreet as captain in your absence?

She did well but could have done better. I though allowing South Africa to score 244 was a little too much considering the bowling attack we have. A total of 200-220 was what I was looking for.

Did you tell her the same?

I did not get time as some of the players were busy packing to catch a flight for home. Before the World Cup, if we have a series, tournament or camp, that's when you can address such things than in a situation when everyone is packing and would not pay attention on ways to improve.

Your own form was tremendous with three fifties in three innings. Yet, you did not bat against some of the weaker teams...

I have always believed that against smaller teams is when you can give others a chance to get some runs and gain some confidence. I did not feel the need to bat against those sides.

Did this Qualifier go as per expectations?

Overall, things have gone very well for the team. We got what we wanted from young players like Deepti, Mansi Joshi, who came in for the injured Jhulan Goswami, or Devika Vaidya. They will go into the next series with confidence. Experience from such matches will help them. Going into the main World Cup, they will not be as raw as they were coming into the Qualifier. Everyone got a game at some point. The Qualifier is a different standard to what we will face in the World Cup in England. The conditions will be different, the pressure is different, double or treble what we faced here. This will give a base for all the young players rather than go into World Cup raw.

Your team won all the eight matches in Lanka including the Super Sixes game against Pakistan…

Actually, against Pakistan, it was a very important toss to win. The P Sara Oval pitch was probably a little soft. There was a lot of moisture in that wicket compared to other matches we played. We chose to bowl and dismissed them for 67. Once we got their top four-five wickets, we knew it was going to be a low scoring game. Because of the rains, if the matches weren't finished, there was a rematch the next day. We did not want to take it to the reserve day. But, I did not expect it to be a one-sided game. It had got more to do with the pitch.

N Zone

8
No. of matches India won out of the 8 matches they played in the Women's World Cup Qualifier in Sri Lanka

207.00
Mithali Raj's average in the tournament. In the three innings she played, she scored 70*, 64 and 73*, becoming only the second player to score over 5,500 runs in women's ODI history.

379
No. of runs Mithali Raj is short of in becoming the highest run accumulator in women's ODI. She has 5,614 runs. Only England's Charlottee Edwards is above her with 5,992 runs

Did you know?

India's Deepti Sharma (253 runs in 6 matches) and Ekta Bisht (13 wickets in 5 matches) topped the batting and bowling charts in the tournament