This tournament wasn't as great as expected: Mithali Raj

Indian eves have had a disastrous run in the ICC World T20. Part of the blame for the poor performances has also gone to skipper Mithali Raj who hasn’t done anything memorable with the bat in the tournament.

The team today lost to the West Indies at Mohali and were ousted from the from the marquee event. It was natural that Mithali Raj would face some sharp question from the media persons in the post match conference. But, the lady decided to dodge the tough questions after team’s unceremonious exit.

Mithali’s has had a disappointing time with the bat. Against Pakistan, she made 16 off 35 balls and against England she fetched 20 off 33 balls. These performances have been considered as the primary reason for India’s defeat. But, she explained that a player can’t be consistent in this format.

“Maybe, this tournament wasn’t as great as expected, but in T20 format, you can’t really be very consistent. The ups and downs are part of this format. I guess, in these three games, the batting unit was not well co-ordinated,” Mithali’s answer at the post-match conference was not at all convincing.

The Hyderabad cricketer blamed the poor fielding efforts of the team for the loss today.

“As a fielding unit, we were inconsistent, I would say because at crucial times when I thought we were squeezing them for runs, we let those slip-ups,” she said.

She, however, did agree that most of the batswomen failed to play a significant knock, scoring in 20’s.

“Some stood up scoring those 20s, but we didn’t have somebody who could take the team along. That is something we need to work on. Though we could not make it to the semi-final, the way the last three games have gone, each time there were challenges, they (bowlers) got the team back in the game,” she tried to put up a brave defence.

“I am sure with these experiences, in the coming games and tournaments, we will be able to handle the pressure better. In events like World Cup, there will be always be pressure and the girls need to accept that,” she said.