Can India win the Women’s World Cup for the first time?

As the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 nears its end, a resurgent Indian team under the able leadership of talismanic batter, Mithali Raj, will take on the hosts England in an attempt to win the coveted trophy for the very first time in their history.

India would be feeling confident going in to the game, as they had already beaten their opponents in the opening match of the tournament. As for three-time champions England, this would be the perfect platform to avenge their defeat.

India has had a fantastic tournament so far. They started off on a positive note with a 35-run victory against the hosts. They followed it up with impressive displays against West Indies and Pakistan, winning the games by 7 wickets and 95 runs respectively.

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India also saw off the challenge posed by their rivals from the subcontinent, Sri Lanka, with a close fought win. It was the game against South Africa that brought them back to earth, as the women endured their first loss in the competition by a huge margin of 115 runs.

Their semifinal hopes were dented when defending champions Australia handed them another defeat, this time by 8 wickets. But the team bounced back from their setbacks by shocking New Zealand and booking a spot in the last four.

In the semifinal, it was Harmanpreet Kaur’s magical unbeaten innings of 171 that outclassed the Aussies and helped India to just their second final ever.

England, on the other hand, came back well from their opening day defeat by notching up six wins in a row, before ascertaining their place in the semifinals.

They went up against South Africa in a bid to reach the final at Lord’s, and managed to come on top in a very close match, eventually winning the game by 2 wickets.

England would be the favourites as they are the hosts and have a very good record against India in World Cups. But India’s performances so far have put plenty of belief in their supporters that this could finally be their year.

So come Sunday, the big question will be whether this Indian can hold their nerve and perform when it matters t