Women's World Cup 2022: India won't take Pakistan lightly, says captain Mithali Raj

Women's World Cup 2022: India captain MIthali Raj said on the eve of their tournament opener that they will not take Pakistan lightly despite having a perfect record against their Asian rivals.

India have never lost an ODI to Pakistan in the history of women's cricket but captain Mithali Raj said the Women in Blue will not take anyone lightly at the Women's World Cup. India, who reached the final of the 2017 World Cup, will take on Pakistan in their opening match at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, March 6.

Speaking on the eve of their opening match in New Zealand, captain Mithali Raj said India will look at the opening match as an opportunity to build momentum into the tournament.

India had a poor run in their limited-overs series against New Zealand, losing their lone-T20I and first four ODIs for the 5-match series. However, the Asian nation has built a bit of winning momentum, clinching victories in the final ODI against New Zealand and their two warm-up matches.

"I think Pakistan is also a good side and I am sure they have prepared very hard for the tournament and so have we. Every team here, we can’t take any team lightly. So we will get into playing every game with a lot of intensity and with a lot of confidence," Mithali Raj said.

"As a team, we are excited to get into the World Cup and starting our campaign tomorrow. We are not looking at it as Pakistan we are playing against, we are looking at a team, which has come prepared and we are equally prepared to put our best foot forward.

"We want to set a momentum going into the tournament and that is how we look at the tournament."

Meanwhile, Mithali Raj highlighted the importance of having an in-form Harmanpreet Kaur, saying the star batter's presence adds to the firepower in the middle-order.