The whole cricket world is down in cricket fever as the T20 World Cup 2024 is taking place in the West Indies and the USA. However, within this, the Indian Women’s Team is spreading excitement as they are facing the South African Women in a three-match ODI series. After winning the first two matches, the Indian Women’s team bagged the series. Before stepping into the third match, Deepti Sharma reflected on the third match and hailed the previous performances.
Team India’s Exciting Series Win and Deepti Sharma’s View:
After facing a defeat in the ODI series against Australia on the home turf, India’s Women’s team faced the South African team on home soil. Since the beginning of the series, the Indian team has showcased their dominance. They won the first match by a huge margin of 143 runs. After that, they registered a thrilling win in the second ODI match too. With those two amazing wins, they are leading the series by 2-0.
After those two amazing wins, Team India’s confidence was boosted to another level. Deepti emphasized the team’s dedication to treating the last match as a chance for growth, rather than just a formality. She said, “Yes, we have won the series but we will not approach this match as one of academic interest. We look to learn from whatever opportunities we get, as we will be going into the one-off Test (in Chennai) later this week.”
On Own Performances and Hailing Others:
In the initial game against South Africa, Deepti displayed her versatile skills, making a pivotal contribution of 37 runs that steered India’s recovery from a challenging situation at 99 for five. Moreover, she played a crucial role with the ball, securing two important wickets. That exciting contribution eased up India’s road to victory.
While talking about this, the all-rounder said, “I love to tackle pressure situations. My thought process is very clear. I always want to make the team win or place the team in a winning position whether it is with my batting or bowling.”
The Indian batters played a crucial role in this series win. While praising them, she said, “The openers played as per the conditions. The ball was moving around a little bit in the initial overs, and they played within themselves. They adapted well. After 10-12 overs, we built some good partnerships. They used every scoring opportunity in that area and that’s a positive for us – the way we capitalized later on.”
On the Fielding Efforts:
Fielding has emerged as a crucial focus for the Indian team, showing significant enhancements and becoming a hidden strength. Pooja Vastrakar’s thrilling catch, which dismissed Marizanne Kapp at 114 runs in the second ODI, shifted the momentum. Deepti emphasized the importance of such moments, underlining the team’s commitment to sharp fielding as a game-changer.
She said, “”We have improved as a fielding unit. You can see that wonderful catch by Pooja (Vastrakar to dismiss centurion Marizanne Kapp). It shifted the momentum for us (in the second ODI) and we are further working on our fielding as a unit.”
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