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Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that if the Mithal Raj-led Indian side wins the ICC Women's World Cup 2022, the women's game in India will go through the roof. Sharing the importance of winning the world cup for women's cricket, Gavaskar shared that if they win the ICC tournament, many young girls will take the game as their career, and a lot of talent and potential will emerge from the remote part of the country.
Gavaskar, one of the legends of the game in India, emphasised that for any field to be successful it is important for it to be a good career option. "And if the Mithali-led squad does the magic, we going to see a massive surge in women opting for cricket as a professional career in India," he said in a video shared by the broadcast network Star Sports.
Gavaskar further recalls the final match of World Cup 2017 when the Indian side reached so close to winning the World Cup at Lords.
"At that time, I believe they felt a lot of pressure as it had so much of crowd, but a handful of Indians were supporting the girls. They could not take the pressure," he added.
Notably, the 2017 edition of the Women's WC was held in England as hosts defeated India by 10-runs to win their 4th championship title. Earlier, the Indian Women's team beat South African women by two runs in a warm-up match of the ICC Women's World Cup on Sunday. Harmanpreet Kaur, India's vice-captain, slammed a 119-ball 114 with the help of 11 boundaries.
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India, however also suffered an injury scare during the game as opener Smriti Mandhana (12) was struck on the head by a bouncer from Shabnim Ismail and was forced to retire hurt. Another opener Yashika Bhatia gained showed some glimpses of form and rhythm ahead of the ICC tournament with a 78-ball 58 after India were invited to bat first. Defending the total, Rajeshwari Gayakwad (4/46) returned with a four-wicket haul to stop South Africa at 242 for seven, despite some good work from opener Laura Wolvaardt (75), Sune Luus (94) and Marizanne Kapp (31).