Fielding will be the key: Mithali Raj

MUMBAI: India skipper Mithali Raj is confident about the hosts putting up their best show in the Women's World Cup but felt the hosts would have no upper hand in the tournament besides the weather and home support, with pitches at every venue likely to benefit batsmen more than bowlers. India's first match against the West Indies, here on Thursday, also doubles up as the tournament opener.

"The only advantage that we would have (as host nation) is having better idea about the conditions. During the practice games, the wickets we saw were quite flat. It is very helpful for batsmen with likely scores to go between 250 and 300. So, the weather can be our only advantage. It is humid here and our players have got used to the conditions with training camps in Mumbai," Mithali said.

"On a flat track, big scores are bound to happen. The bowling needs to be tightened up definitely, but the one area that will be crucial in such games will be fielding. The wicket will not change much during the match, so fielding will be the key," she explained.

With the Caribbeans falling sick during the warm-up games, the World No.1 batswoman believes it might go in India's favour.

"Some of their players are not keeping well and they still have to get acclimatised to the conditions that might help us and also the kind of form we are in, I am sure the girls will put up a good show," she said.

However, she hinted her teammates against any complacency.

"Last year, we toured West Indies, though we lost the One-dayers, they are a side who are developing every year. They have good players and hard hitters too," she said.

Mithali also felt that the presence of world class spinner like Anisa Mohammed in the West Indian ranks might prove a possible hurdle to the team's ambitions. Anisa had picked 7-14 in the final of the 2011 World Cup qualifier against Pakistan.

"Anisa has been consistent wicket-taker against India. She has always taken 2-3 wickets against India. But I don't think it is going to be a challenge because it goes down to how you have prepared yourself for the World Cup considering the bowlers you are going to face.

"The preparations have gone well, for instance in Bangalore we had our first camp where we played against the boys team. The second camp was at Bombay. I am happy the way the girls played the first two warm-up games. In all, it looks like the team is very compact," she added.

But the one area of concern for Mithali was the opening slot, which she says has been taken care of by good performances of Thirush Kamini and Poonam Raut.

"One thing I always felt was that India never had a good opening pair. That was a very big concern. This time we have Thirush who has made a comeback, Poonam has been good too. In both the warm-up games they have done really well. They have given us a good start and that's a positive sign," she said.