'Cannot take Zimbabwe lightly'- Former India Women's captain Mithali Raj alerts team India ahead of 20-20 World Cup match

Mithali Raj (Image source: Twitter)

South Africa’s loss to the Netherlands in the early hours of Sunday paved the way for India’s qualification to the semi-final. India’s final Super 12 game against Zimbabwe as a result of South Africa’s loss becomes nothing but a dead rubber game.

One of the biggest names in Women’s cricket Mithali Raj however is of a different opinion and has suggested India to not take Zimbabwe lightly.

“They (India) cannot take the game against Zimbabwe lightly. We know what they did against Pakistan (won by one run) and they had a very close game against Bangladesh, going down to the final ball twice," said Mithali in her column for Governing Body of International Cricket.

“I really feel India is the favourite when it comes to playing against Zimbabwe but then when you’re playing the smaller teams, you need to be mindful to keep the intensity through the game. If at any time the intensity drops the opposition will start to get the better of you and T20 is so fast-paced, they there few chances for recovery," opined Mithali, who recently said goodbye to international cricket.

“You still have to play your game, be your best on every match day. I think India has been good in the power-plays with Arshdeep (Singh) picking up the wickets barring the game against Bangladesh where the Bangladesh batters really got the measure of our bowling, especially in the powerplay," suggested Raj.

The opening pair needs to fire- Mithali Raj

Mithali Raj also advised Indian players who are out of form to use this match as match practice and get their form back.

“That match (against Zimbabwe) will also be important for those players to (get) back into form who haven’t started firing as yet in this World Cup. Their form is key for India when they get into the semifinals. You want all the loose ends settled before the semis."

“The opening pair needs to fire together because we have not yet had an ideal opening partnership, we’ve lost wickets in the powerplay. I have been enjoying watching Rohit captain across this World Cup; I think some of his decisions have been brilliant. Some might argue that he could have done this better or that, but every captain makes decisions at the spur of the moment, there are a lot of other factors the captain is considering at that time.

“The most important thing is that you need to rally your team to achieve that goal and I think he is doing a fine job of that, hiccups will happen here and there, especially in a tournament like the World Cup. You will probably lose a game, but as captain, it is important to get your team to refocus on the goal at hand. Even though it has been five months since I retired from cricket, I still have the natural emotions towards the sport from being a player," she added.