Veda Krishnamurthy’s coach surprised the batter wasn’t played before the game against New Zealand

A lot is expected from the Indian Women’s cricket team as they gear up for the all-important semi-final clash against 6-time winners Australia. And an equal percentage of expectations will be on players like Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy, who played a terrific inning in the knockout game against the White Ferns and helped India qualify for the semi-finals.

The 24-year-old middle order batter scored 70 runs off 45 balls against New Zealand, and her innings propelled India to a daunting total of 265/7, which helped them secure a win by a massive margin of 186 runs. The team would want her to put up a similar show against Australia, as it is going to be a stiff task to overpower the Aussies who are also the defending champions of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Veda’s coach Sukhwinder Bawa, who trained the batter from 2011 to 2014 said he was surprised that she was not given a single game to play before the knockout. “I was surprised Veda didn’t feature in the playing XI in the first three games against England, West Indies and Pakistan. You can’t make such a player sit on the bench in a World Cup,” he told Hindustan Times exclusively.

A street smart cricketer 

“She is a street-smart cricketer who bowls handy leg-spin and is a fine fielder. She plays with a heavy bat and loves going for big shots. She will play an important role against Australia,” Bawa added.

This is not the first time that India will play the semi-final of a World Cup. They played one in 2005 and won it, but eventually faltered in the finals against the Australian Women. For captain Mithali Raj, who is playing her fifth and also possibly the last World Cup, she would be keen to sign off her glorious career, during which she also became the highest run-getter in women’s ODIs, with the trophy.