ICC Women's T20 World Cup: Mithali Raj Lauds Poonam Yadav For Her Match-Winning Spell Against Australia

India’s Test and ODI Women’s team captain, Mithali Raj has hailed Poonam Yadav after she bowled a game-changing spell against Australia women’s in the opening game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

India beat Australia by 17 runs in the first game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Sydney on Friday.

Poonam won the Man of the Match award after delivering an incredible spell against the Aussies that turned the game into India’s favour.

Stepping into the game, India were the underdogs to win the tie. Batting first, they were in all sorts of trouble when the entire team could manage only 132 runs with the bat. But, India’s bowlers turned the tables and Poonam was the most effective of them.

Mithali Raj Lauds Poonam Yadav For A Match-Winning Spell:

Mithali said, “Poonam Yadav’s spell was the turning point. She’s been one of the main spinners for India for quite some time now, and her style worked again today. Although we recovered our innings through Deepti Sharma and her partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, it was Poonam’s flurry of wickets against Australia’s megastars, which completely changed the game.

Batting first, the Women in Blue could only put up a total of 132 runs for the loss of four wickets. Deepti Sharma remained not out for the score of 49 runs. Australia women’s started strongly but crumbled in the middle and the entire Aussie innings fell apart.

This turnaround came when Poonam came into bowl. She bamboozled the Australian batswomen with her flight and speed and gave them a hard time on the field.

In her four overs, Poonam clinched four wickets giving away only 19 runs in the process. She was even denied with a hat-trick when wicketkeeper Tanya Bhatia failed to grab a catch.

Poonam clinched the important wickets of Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Rachael Haynes, and Jess Jonassen respectively.

Australia are the defending champions of the tournament and they have won the competition four times, which is the most by any team.

And having beaten them in the opening game itself, especially after losing a Tri-series final a week before against Australia, will give India a lot of boost going further in the competition.

Also Read: Twitter Goes Berserk As India Women’s Beat World Champions Australia In ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Opener