An easier ride than expected

Mithali Raj

It’s good to be home after a successful tour. When we landed last night in Chennai there were a lot of reporters waiting for us but I had to rush to catch my connecting flight to Hyderabad and couldn’t give any interviews. There have been a few calls for interviews here as well.

Overall, I felt it was a good tournament for India. We tried out five newcomers and I am happy that all of them utilised the opportunity to ease themselves in to international cricket. As far as the other teams are concerned, at the start of the tournament I thought we would get some stiff competition, but after the first leg, I felt it was easier than it should have been.

Bangladesh is a very talented side. In their very first outing, they have performed – so they are ready to play in this level. Pakistan, I feel, have underperformed. This is the more or less the same side as the last Asia Cup but they haven’t delivered this time – maybe their batting has failed. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have a good bowling and fielding side but they don’t have depth in their middle order. Their top order is good but once they are dismissed, Sri Lanka don’t have the batsmen to take them to a competitive total.

The positive side for India was that in each innings we were crossing 250-plus and then bowling the opposition out for low scores. We don’t discuss targets in team meetings but the coaches do highlight any technical faults or suggest variations that bowlers can try. The standard in the Asia Cup wasn’t like it is when we play Australia or England but I’m sure there will be improvements in each team soon.

Our next tour is to England in September. We have been given training schedules to maintain our levels of fitness and will have a couple of camps before the tour. England will be tough opposition because they have just beaten Australia in the Ashes. We will have to be very careful in our preparations.

I will be joining the Railways team for a camp at the end of this month. So see you then.