WWT20: Twitterati question India's decision to bench Mithali Raj as England beat India in semis

ICC Womens WT20: Twitterati question decision to bench Mithali Raj as England crush India in semis — File photo: Mithali Raj

North Sound, Nov 23: Natalie Sciver and Amy Jones slammed brilliant fifties as dominant England women crushed India by eight wickets in the second semi-final of the ICC Women's World Cup 2018 here on Thursday (November 22) to set up the final clash with Australia.

England bt India by eight wickets

England women made light work of the run chase of 113 as they cruised home in 17.1 overs. Sciver (52* off 40) and Amy Jones (53 off 45) forged an unbeaten partnership of 92 runs for the third wicket as they hammered the Indian spinners all round the park.

England lost their openers cheaply in the run chase but Sciver and Jones batted brilliantly and finished the game for their team after those early hiccups. England lost openers, Danielle Wyatt (8) and Tammy Beaumont (1) cheaply but Sciver and Jones' batted superbly to stop India's unbeaten run in the game when it mattered the most.

Earlier, batting first India witnessed a batting collapse in the middle-order and succumbed to a paltry 112 in 19.3 overs. The Women In Blue lost 8 wickets in a course of 23 runs which hurt them badly as they fell some 25-30 runs short of a respectable total.

Smriti Mandhana (34 off 23) and Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 26) were the top-scorers for India and gave them a good start as well. But once these two were back in the pavilion, none of the other batters applied themselves and were dismissed attempting ambitious strokes.

India's decision of not playing their most seasoned campaigner Mithali Raj in a crucial game like semi-final too seemed to have backfired for it was their batting that, primarily, let them down. It was the second occasion in 18 months when Heather Knight's women have dashed India's hopes of lifting their maiden world cup title. Earlier last year, England had defeated Mithali Raj-led Indian side in the ICC Women's World Cup final to deny them a world cup.

However, the Indian women won a lot of hearts with their game throughout the tournament and their performance would be worth remembering and the fans would be proud of their efforts. But everyone wondered why India didn't play Mithali in a crucial game like this.

Here's how people reacted on Twitter after England's win and India's loss:

Reason for defeat

Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar underlined the fact that the Indians paid the price of not playing Mithali Raj and throwing their wickets away.

Why no Mithali, asks Sayami Kher

Bollywood actress praised the Indian women for their stellar show in the tournament and felt bad for them as they couldn't make it to the finals. However, she also wondered why India didn't play Mithali Raj.