India women's ODI skipper Mithali Raj is highly impressed with spinner Poonam Yadav after her four-fer against hosts Australia helped the Women in Blue register an emphatic 17-run victory in the opening match of the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Sydney on Friday.


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Despite posting a moderated 132, it was Poonam's heroics which helped India come out victorious on Friday and speaking on the match, Mithali said, "Poonam Yadav's spell was the turning point. She's been one of the main spinners for India for quite some time now, and her style worked again today.

"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," the ace women cricketer wrote in an exclusive column in ICC official website.

Mithali was also all praise for young batting sensation Shafali Verma saying, "She impressed me too on her debut. She gave India's middle-order the cushioning they needed to regain momentum.

"Verma has stuck with stroke play that she demonstrated in the tri-series and I think she should be given that free range in the first six overs because when you're playing a top team, the runs in the first six overs are so important."

The Indian eves will now be up against Bangladesh on Monday.