Difficult Playing Back-To-Back Games: Mithali Raj After Velocity Loses Women’s T20 Challenge Match 2

Indian women cricket team’s senior player Mithali Raj was on a roller coaster ride during the last two games in the Women’s T20 Challenge. The captain of team Velocity spoke about her team's poor performance post-match. She revealed how they didn’t have enough time to recover before their second match against Trailblazers. Raj said, "As far as playing in the afternoon (is concerned), we haven't even got 12 hours to recover from yesterday's game."

Also Read: All You Need To Know About Women’s T20 Challenge 2020: Timing, Schedule, Squad, Venue 

Mithali Raj opens up about Velocity's burn out

Raj's Velocity squad beat Supernovas by five wickets in the opening in Sharjah on Wednesday. However, on Thursday during an afternoon match, they were bowled out for 47 in 15.1 overs, and the Trailblazers brilliantly chased down the target in 7.5 overs. Velocity lost the match by nine wickets. Speaking on the difficulty of playing back-to-back matches with less than 12 hours, Raj said in the post-match press conference, “So clearly yes, it has been difficult for the girls to prepare themselves and come back and play the afternoon game after playing last night,” ESPN reported.

England spinner Sophie Ecclestone took 4-9 as Trailblazers thrashed Velocity by nine wickets in the Women's T20 Challenge https://t.co/0dtX7x8nar pic.twitter.com/8ywHDtKW4i

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 5, 2020

Raj, the India women’s ODI team captain, also mentioned how the other two teams rested enough between their games but Velocity players had to gear up for two consecutive games in less than 24 hours in addition to the travel between Dubai and Sharjah.

Jhulan Goswami just wanted to get back the rhythm

Jhulan Goswami, who took two wickets for Trailblazers, said, "I just stuck to my basics. After a long time, I was playing this format of the game, so I just wanted to get back the rhythm and momentum. That was my plan." The 37-year-old also explained how the tournament could prove to be fruitful for Indian women cricketers and that the young cricketers have a bright future ahead. "Last year, Shafali played here and was picked in the Indian team and she was so good in the World Cup," Goswami said. "If we get more matches the youngsters get the opportunity to learn from overseas players and it will be good for Indian cricket."

Also Read: Mithali Raj Bats For Six-Team Full-Fledged Women’s IPL Ahead Of Women’s T20 Challenge

Smriti Mandhana is excited to play after a seven-month gap

Trailblazers captain Smriti Mandhana on Thursday said that she is happy about her team’s performance. “It was a good game. We were really excited. We were raring to play cricket after a break of seven months,” she said.

Image Credit: BCCI

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