No One Expected Us To Be In The Final Of The 2017 World Cup, ICC Had Booked Return Tickets After The Group Stage: Smriti Mandhana
Published - 08 Mar 2020, 01:32 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:04 AM
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India’s young and dynamic women’s cricketer, Smriti Mandhana has revealed how they surpassed all expectations reaching the 2017 World Cup final.
India did the unthinkable in 2017 as they reached the finals of the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup in England. Although they could not win the title, Smriti revealed how ICC thought that India would be knocked out after the group stages itself.
Smriti Mandhan grabbed all the headlines as she carried the Indian team on her shoulders to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup final in 2017.
Mandhana came into the team for the 2017 World Cup after recovering from an injury she sustained, an anterior cruciate ligament rupture, during her time at the WBBL in January that year. In her five-month recovery period, she missed the World Cup Qualifier and the Quadrangular Series in South Africa.
She began the World Cup with a 90 against England in Derby, in the first of the group match. She helped her team win by 35 runs and was named the player of the match. followed by her second hundred in a One Day International against West Indies (106*)
Mandhana was part of the Indian team to reach the final of the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup where the team lost to England by nine runs.
Smriti Mandhana Opens Up On The 2017 World Cup Run
Speaking to Cricbuzz in a candid interview, Mandhana said, “I remember there were two batches of people coming from England because no one expected us to be in the finals. So our return tickets had already been booked after the group matches. When ICC booked the tickets after the finals, they had to book tickets in two batches as seats weren’t available in a single batch.”
Speaking on the reception that the team got from the Indian fans, Smriti said, “People were so ecstatic over India’s run that the team had to retreat at the airport. I felt as if we had won the world cup.”
India To Play T20 World Cup Final On Sunday
The Indian women’s cricket team will take on Australia in the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday at the MCG. Australia are the defending champions and have won the competition the most number of times winning it four times.
India had a great run to the final winning four out of four games. Australia lost only one game in the tournament so far which was their opening game of the tournament against India.
