'Told girls to put up an A-grade performance' - Mithali Raj after India ends Australia's 26-match winning streak

India pulled off their highest successful ODI chase when they defeated Australia by two wickets in the third ODI on Sunday (26 September). The win also ended the home team’s 26-match winning run in the 50 over format. Veteran player Jhulan Goswami starred with both bat and ball to help India finally get one over the line of Australia.

Although the Goswami walked away with the player of the match award, India found two new heroes in the form of Yastika Bhatia and Shafali Verma, who scored 64 and 56 respectively to help lay the foundation of India’s 266 runs. Naturally, skipper Mithali Raj was ecstatic about the team’s performance. She also told her teammates to give an A-grade performance and not worry too much about the past losses.

“We are just happy that we have won the last game, just told the girls that we need to put up an A-grade performance, so happy with the victory. It’s good to have a little bit of depth in the batting order, we tried the combinations with all-rounders and it worked. Pooja got runs and crucial wickets, Shafali was good and Sneh Rana did really well,” Mithali said after the game.

Although India lost the series 2-1, the visitors gave Australia a run for the money. In the second ODI, India almost came close to sealing a victory only to be denied by a defiant Beth Mooney in the end. But Jhulan Goswami was not letting it slip out of the hand and ensured the chase was finished off with three balls to spare.

“It was important to bounce back from the second match, that loss hurt us, it was good to chase, we are good in that, but I think the last game gave us confidence going into today’s encounter,” she added.

It’s important to give your best in the field: Jhulan Goswami

Goswami said that they were just to win the game by staying right till the end. She also reflected on her bowling performance and said it was important to stick to the basics.

“We were just trying to win the game, try to stay there and finish the game. We lost the last match by a narrow margin, but today was a new day, I wanted to keep the ball in the right area and if I did that, I knew I could get breakthroughs. That was what I did. It’s important to give your best in the field, take positives and that’s what I want to do as a senior. Lots of aches in my body, need time to recover, but we’re looking forward to be a part of the pink-ball Test,” said Jhulan.