ICC Womens' World Cup: India skipper Mithali demands allround improvement

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London, July 14: England, Australia and South Africa have booked a last four berth in the ICC Women's World Cup in England. India will take on New Zealand to decide the fourth semifinalists at the County Ground, Derby on Saturday.

Ahead of the crucial encounter, India skipper Mithali Raj demanded improvement from her troops and said the ability to cope with the pressures of a must-win game will be the deciding factor.

"You can't just give up because you lose one game," said Mithali. "India has always had the problem that when faced with the crunch matches, the team does not necessarily step up.

"If it is a very crucial game in the T20s, the World Cup, or even just that dictates a series win, we tend to fall down in that match. The girls are so talented, but it's just a matter of how well they pull themselves up after a defeat. That's what makes world champions.

"As a team, we have to step up. If we perform again like against Australia it will not be enough. We really have to improve all over the pitch, especially producing more consistency from how we are bowling and fielding. I think our bowlers need to be more consistent in terms of their areas and bowling the good balls," she said.

New Zealand skipper Suzie Bates remained positive heading into the decider. "We've played some really good cricket and only lost to England and Australia, so it's not all doom and gloom," she said.

"We've got what is basically a quarter-final against India and we know we can beat them. But we've got to play well because one of us is going home. It's interesting because in this tournament we've seen every game as a must-win and we've played like that," she said.

OneIndia News