New Delhi : Indian women’s skipper Mithali Raj on Thursday admitted that her side are brimming with confidence after their thumping victory over Bangladesh in World T20 opener, adding that they are absolutely prepared to face fierce rivals Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Saturday.
The 33-year-old, however, admitted that she was aware of the pressure generated around the much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan.
“The team looks very confident and they are looking forward to the next game in the group stage. Pakistan we are playing the day after and I am quite aware of the pressure generated around the game. The men and women are playing the same opponent and since we are playing in the capital. It is even more a bigger game for all of us,” Raj told ANI here.
Reflecting on her side’s performance in the opening match, Raj said she was quite satisfied with the contribution made by the batting line-up, adding that she hopes that they would maintain their momentum in the upcoming group clashes as well.
“I happy with the fact that batters all of them have chipped in whether it is Harman, Vellaswamy Vanitha or Veda Krishnamurthy .So, it is always important out of five batters, three or four of them have to score on a particular day to post a good total against any side,” she added.
Raj, who smacked a quick-fire 35-ball 42 against Bangladesh, insisted that she would try to provide strong start to her side so that the middle-order batsmen can capitalize and accelerate the innings.
“I am quite happy with the fact that I gave a good start to the team because when you open the innings in the T20 against any side you need to get good start in the first six overs so that the middle-order can take the rhythm from there. And that is what we had intended and executed against Bangladesh. I hope I continue my pairing with Vanitha to give that kind of start to the team,” said Raj.
Earlier, the Indian bowling unit stepped up the attack after Harmanpreet Kaur’s blistering knock to help the hosts kick start their World T20 campaign with a thumping 72-run win over Bangladesh in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Harmanpreet provided the thrust in the middle overs, scoring a brisk 40 off just 29 balls and was well supported by Veda Krishnamurthy (36 off 24 balls) as India made a daunting 163 runs for five in their stipulated 20 overs, the highest T20 target posted by the Indian eves. (ANI)