Cape Town: India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur believes young opener Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh not being groomed in the traditional mould like some stalwarts is helping them experiment with shots and bring a different flavour to the lineup.
Both Shafali (28 off 23 balls) and middle-order batter Richa (44 not out off 32 balls) played some daring shots and scored brisk runs Wednesday as India defeated the West Indies by six wickets with 11 balls to spare in their Women’s T20 World Cup group match here.
Harmanpreet said the two youngsters enjoy playing the short balls, which is a departure from the traditional batters who prefer conservative strokes like the drives and cuts.
Complimenting the two after the pair played vital innings with the bat, Harmanpreet said, “Well, they (Shafali and Richa) are someone who really like to play short balls. They are not the traditional Indian batters who like to play the drives and stuff like that. I think they are someone who really enjoy the short balls and they are now with the senior team for a long time.
“They have already, I guess they have played more than 50 matches now. They know what international cricket is and what type of balls you are going to face, when you are going to bat, what speed is going to come and I think they are mature enough.
“Good to see that they are taking responsibility and taking us through from any situation.”
The skipper added that the pair had given India a deep batting lineup, which was translating into more confidence in the side.
“Well, now we have a long batting line-up and we only discussed we just need to go and express. We are not going to put any extra pressure on ourselves because everyone in the team, they are capable of winning the game and we are just trusting each other.
“Whoever is in the middle, we are showing the trust that the person can pull the game for us,” added Harmanpreet.
With Ghosh coming at a crucial juncture after India had lost three wickets for 43 runs, the wicketkeeper-batter upped the tempo with an unbeaten 44, studded with five boundaries. The teenager turned the complexion of the game with her strike rate touching 138.
Harmanpreet said the innings was an assertion that India are now batting deep.
“I think the way Richa batted today and I think that shows us how much strength we have in our batting and we just need to take some time and just spend — just take your time and then you can execute yourself.”
The captain said the two successive wins — against Pakistan and West Indies — had provided India with the momentum to go against England with a positive frame of mind Saturday.
“Well, it was important for us two wins first two games, because you get that momentum and I think the way we played that was more satisfied for me because, we wanted to start with little calmness and without, putting any pressure on us. And that’s how we started. And I think that was a big positive for me.”
She said a lot of work had gone in the nets to groom Ghosh the batter, where coach Hrishkesh Kanitkar spoke about how the youngster should only pick the right deliveries to play her strokes.
“Whenever Rishi sir (Kanitkar) and she (Richa) is speaking, they’re only talking about picking the right ball, because that is very important for her because earlier, she was in hurry — because she’s someone who can always clear the ball. And I think that’s why, picking the right ball is the key for her.
“And it’s good to see that she’s understanding which is her zone and which ball she can hit and which ball to just take a single. So, I think showing that maturity is something which we are really happy to see.”
The captain indicated that a big load was off her shoulders following her 42-ball 33 against the West Indies after missing the two warmup matches against Australia and Bangladesh due to injury.
“Well, personally, for me, it (the knock) was very important. That’s why, I didn’t show any hurry because it was a chaseable total according to our batting line-up. And I had that self-belief that if I can spend some time and we have a batter who can execute their self.
“That’s why — I was just spending some time there and when Richa came and then I know she’s in good touch. My job is only to give her a single and I just spend some time and then I can get the confidence.”
PTI