ICC Women's T20I World Cup: Mithali Raj heaps praise on Poonam Yadav's display against Australia; calls her spell 'turning point' of the game

The Indian women’s cricket team began their T20 World Cup campaign in emphatic fashion as they defeated hosts and defending champions Australia, courtesy a decisive spell of brilliant spin bowling by Poonam Yadav.

Former Indian skipper Mithali Raj hailed the leg-spinner’s performance and stated that Yadav’s four overs were the turning point of the game. Being put in to bat first, India got off to a decent start but lost a flurry of wickets after the powerplay ended. However, the gritty efforts of Deepti Sharma, who was ably supported by Jemimah Rodrigues, helped India post a total of 132.

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Australia started their innings confidently with Alyssa Healy dispatching the India bowlers all over the park for boundaries, but Yadav’s four-over spell yielded four wickets and turned the tide of the game completely. Raj heaped praise on the 28-year-old and acknowledged how the flurry of wickets she took to dismiss the Australian stars in quick succession tilted the game in the Women in Blue’s favour.

"That opening match definitely lived up to the hype of the tournament, which has been building so much over the past few weeks," International Cricket Council quoted Raj as saying.

Poonam Yadav's spell was the turning point. She's been one of the main spinners for India for quite some time now. Although we recovered our innings through Deepti Sharma and her partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, it was Poonam's flurry of wickets against Australia's megastars, which completely changed the game," she added.