Indian Women's team led by Mithali Raj reached the finals of the 2017 ICC Women's World Cup and made the whole country proud.

Each one of the players put their hands up and fought their heart out at different stages of the tournament. Sushma Verma, the team's wicketkeeper, said the response of the fans, once they returned to the country, was an overwhelming one.

Speaking to Times of India at an event in New Delhi, the wicketkeeper batswoman said: "After we lost the final, the team was very disappointed but we saw later that the fans were even more disappointed. But at the same time, after we returned, we noticed a lot of new things for the first time ever - the fans came to receive us, we were felicitated so many times, people were showering so much love on us - it was all very new. Till now, the kind of love and support men's cricket had received in India, women's cricket had not. We saw that changing after this World Cup. We wanted to bring about a change in the mindset of the fans regarding women's cricket through our performances and that is why it feels great to see that."

Talking about the amount of hard work which the women's team put before any match, Sushma said it is right up there with that of male athletes, it is just that people are unaware of those efforts.

"We were desperately waiting for this because we are also working hard like the male cricketers or other sportspersons. The difference was that people were unaware of those efforts. It's good that people are also watching us and giving the same importance to us that they give to male cricketers," she said.

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Often termed as 'female Dhoni' by the cricket fans for her prowess behind the stumps, Sushma says it is an honor for her to be named in the same breath.

"It is humbling that people feel that I sometimes do the same things that someone like MS Dhoni does. It's a big compliment, than a comparison. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a legend and a captain of a World Cup-winning team. I don't think I can be on the same platform as him. But I don't try and emulate him. Whatever I'm doing, I do it in my own way and I am just glad that it is working," Sushma said.

Sushma also feels that revolution concerning the women's cricket have just begun in India and it will only be going to strengthen from here.

"I was going through some articles that said that the matches in this Women's World Cup were the most watched women's games in TV history. And slowly, the games will command the same viewership that men's matches do. This performance can do for women's cricket what the 1983 World Cup win did for the men's game," she said.

"Things have been changing recently and that is because we needed to do something extraordinary to attract attention towards women's cricket. By reaching the final, we did that to an extent and fans, sponsors, everyone took notice. I think if we keep performing, things will keep improving," she concluded.