ICC Women's World Cup 2017: 6 Indian players who didn't get the credit they deserved

The 2017 ICC Women's World Cup came to an end with hosts England getting the better of India in the final by 9 runs. In spite of losing in the final, the Indian team can take a lot of positives from this World Cup.

All the members who played in the tournament played their part in team's success. Though the likes of Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur got the praises they deserved, few players were not duly applauded despite doing well throughout the tournament.

Let us take a look at six Indian women who didn't get the credits they deserved for their performances in the World Cup.

---

#6 Poonam Yadav

The middle overs are very crucial for any team in a limited-overs game. It is the period that differentiates the winner from the losing team.

The Indian women's team were lucky to have someone like Poonam Yadav bowl in those overs. In spite of having a disadvantage with her height, the leggie from Agra was very instrumental in India's run in the World Cup as she performed consistently well in every single match.

She flighted the ball very well and didn't allow the opposition batters to get going against her. Poonam also used the crease well to her advantage and stopped the batswomen from using their feet against her bowling.

She played all the nine matches and ended the tournament as India's second-highest wicket taker and the bowler with the best economy among everyone.

Poonam bowled 74 overs in the tournament and picked up 11 wickets at an average of 26 and an economy of 3.86, something that is very brilliant for a bowler who bowls in the middle overs.

#5 Sushma Verma

Sushma Verma was brilliant behind the stumps for India

Sushma Verma came into the tournament as a wicket-keeper, who bats at number 10 and averages just over two with a strike-rate of 23. As the tournament progressed, Sushma proved herself as a capable bat and earned a promotion in the batting order on several occasions.

She might have scored just 51 runs in six innings, but to be fair to her, she hardly got a chance to bat longer. When she got a chance to express herself. Sushma scored a match-winning 33 against arch-rivals Pakistan and took India to a decent total.

Adding to her decent performances with the bat, Sushma was brilliant behind the stumps throughout and effected 15 dismissals (seven catches and eight stumpings) in the tournament, the only wicketkeeper to reach the double figures in the dismissal column. She was very instrumental behind the stumps in India's win over England and West Indies in the group stage.

#4 Shikha Pandey

Pandey wasn't able to get back to her best in the final

While the fanatics were busy praising the best bowler to have graced the sport, Jhulan Goswami for her heroics in the final, where she brought India back in the game, the contributions of her new ball partner Shikha Pandey in the tourney went unnoticed.

When Jhulan Goswami was off-colour in the group stage, Shikha rose to the occasion and did the job for the team in the field restriction overs. The pacer from Goa bowled most of her overs inside the first 10 and she made sure that the opposition openers did not get their team off to a flying start.

Extra cover: Shikha Pandey, the girl who emerged from Goa and rattled world cricket

In the seven matches she played, she struck early in almost all the matches (barring the final when had an off-day) and gave India a decent start with the ball. She accounted for eight wickets in the tournament at an outstanding average of 23.25 and an economy of 4.3.

#3 Veda Krishnamurthy

Veda was very crucial for India down the order

Veda Krishnamurthy was the talk of the town after India's loss to England in the final as the self-proclaimed fans, whose first match in the tournament was the final, blamed her for the loss after she was dismissed trying to play a pull shot when the team needed 29 runs off 32 balls.

They forget the fact that Veda was the one who took India closer to victory with her own aggressive brand of batting(something that has been her role in the team) as she scored a 34-ball 35 when her teammates kept losing their wickets at the other end.

Criticisms are part and parcel of a player's career. But, blaming her for the loss is nothing less than being delusional. Veda, who replaced Mona Mesharam for the match against Sri Lanka after missing the first few matches of the tournament, gave a very good performance as she did her job to perfection.

Extra cover: My mother encouraged me to play 'boys' sports, says Veda Krishnamurthy

Her 29 against Sri Lanka, the match-turning 70 off just 45 balls against New Zealand in a must-win game and her 35-odd in the final were very crucial for the team's cause in the World Cup. She scored 153 runs in six matches at an average of 31 and a strike-rate 112.5, something that is too good for a batter in women's cricket.

#2 Punam Raut

Punam Raut couldn't take the team home in the final

Before the start of the tournament, all eyes were on Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana as the trio was expected to deliver with the bat.

Mithali managed to live up to the expectations as she fell one short of Tammy Beaumont's 410 runs in the competition to become the tournament's leading run scorer while Harman, after failing in the group stages, played out of her skin in three must-win matches and Smriti failed after scoring 196 runs in the first two matches.

When Harman and Smriti failed to get going in the group stages, Smriti's fellow opener stood up and made amends with the bat. She was pretty consistent with the bat throughout the tournament.

Extra cover: Virat Kohli mixes up Mithali Raj and Punam Raut in congratulatory Facebook post

In the nine matches she played, she scored 381 runs, the second highest for India in the tournament, at an average and strike-rate of 43 and 68 respectively.

#1 Deepti Sharma

Deepti Sharma was India's best player in the World Cup

Runs with the bat and wickets with the ball, Deepti Sharma, the 19-year-old all-rounder from Uttar Pradesh, was India's best player in the recently-concluded in the tournament. In spite of that, she hardly got the praise she deserved, just like the five other players in the list.

Coming into the World Cup after scoring India's highest score in ODIs, 188, Deepti was expected to play a vital role for India in the extravaganza. The teenager didn't disappoint as she was India's biggest positive from the tournament.

216 runs from 8 innings at an average of 31 with the bat and 12 wickets with the ball, the most by any Indian, at an average of 30 and an economy of 4.7 shows what she has brought to the table.

With age on her side, we can see the nation sing her praise in the years to come.