Besides the thousands of Indian supporters at the DY Patil Stadium here on Sunday, cheering for Harmanpreet Kaur & Co in the Women’s Cricket World Cup final, there were some few English cricket fans too supporting the Women in Blue.
Kent-based Carol Brown and Kenyon Sue Kitchen, who has played club cricket in England, have been enjoying the Women’s World Cup action, and though the English team failed to make it to the final, the duo were at Nerul, rooting for India. “We’re supporting India today [Sunday] because England didn’t get through. My friend Sue has gone to try and buy an India shirt right now. I like Deepti [Sharma], she’s a very good all-rounder. I also like spinner Radha Yadav. Harman [skipper Harmanpreet Kaur], Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues are all very good players too. Jemimah played a brilliant knock in the semi-final which we also watched in the stadium,” Brown told mid-day on Sunday.
Brown and Kitchen began their World Cup journey at Visakhapatnam where they witnessed the hosts going down to South Africa by three wickets in the league phase. “That was a good game. [No.8 batter] Nadine de Klerk [scored an unbeaten 54-ball 84] did very well. And then we saw a second game at Vizag, before travelling to Indore for the India vs Australia and India vs England matches. Travelling across India has been lovely” added Brown.
Interestingly, England lost to South Africa in the semis, but that’s not the reason these two are supporting India in the final. “We believe that if India wins, it will make a huge impact on the game for women,” said Brown.