India skipper Mithali Raj has asserted that it would be exceptional for her team if they manage to pull off win against Australia in the semi-final of the ongoing ICC Women's World Cup.
Raj has been in fine form with the bat herself though, scoring 356 runs in seven innings and becoming the first woman to surpass 6,000 runs in one-day cricket in the process.
She scored 69 in defeat to the Australians earlier in the group stage but knows that counts for nothing when India face the Meg Lanning-led side on Thursday.
The Women in Blue have won all four of the games it has played at the County Ground, including against host England in the opening match of the tournament.
"It's all about how the teams respond to the situation and the conditions on the day," Raj said.
"How the players play the situation is important because having said that Derby is our home ground, you need to perform on that day to win. We've played a lot of the group stage here, four games, so we are aware of the conditions and that is our advantage."
Australia, the defending champions, have won six of the 10 World Cup tournaments prior to the ongoing edition and hold an overwhelming 34-8 win-loss record against India in ODIs.
"But Australia is a very good side. They won the last edition of this tournament and they have a lot of players who have played in high-pressure games. But for this Indian team, it is going to be a big game and if we can pull out one win, it will be exceptional by the team," Raj insisted.
Squads:
Australia: Meg Lanning (captain), Sarah Aley, Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell, Nicole Bolton, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani and Amanda-Jade Wellington.
India: Mithali Raj (captain), Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Smriti Mandhana, Mona Meshram, Shikha Pandey, Poonam, Nuzhat Parween, Poonam Raut, Deepti Sharma and Sushma Verma.
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