Opener Pratika Rawal, who top scored with 122 as the hosts beat New Zealand by 53 runs at the Dy Patil Stadium on Thursday to end India’s three-match losing streak, said she was always confident the team would bounce back.
“We were having this discussion about believing in ourselves, that we can win a match at any moment because we have those kinds of players. We have match-winners who can score big runs and take a lot of wickets. I’m really happy that it all worked out for us today [Thursday], and I just hope it continues,” Rawal said during the post-match press conference on Thursday.
Rawal (122, 13×4, 2×6) and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (109, 10×4, 4×6) anchored India’s victory against NZ to seal a semi-final berth at the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in the process.
Harmanpreet Kaur & Co had lost their last three games, to South Africa, Australia and England, before Rawal rescued them by scoring her second ODI and maiden World Cup century.Rawal and Mandhana shared a record opening partnership of 212 runs in 33.2 overs, which helped the hosts rack up 340-3 in 49 overs. After a couple of rain interruptions, NZ were required to chase a revised target of 325 in 44 overs (via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method).
Rawal, who became the joint-fastest player (matching Australia’s Lindsay Reeler) to reach 1000 ODI runs in women’s cricket — achieving the milestone in just her 23rd ODI — credited her teammates, coaches and the positive dressing room atmosphere for her success. “The environment in the dressing room is amazing. The kind of support I get from my teammates and coaches is just commendable. It’s because of them that I can express myself freely on the ground. I actually only found out after I came off that I had reached a milestone. But honestly, I don’t focus on milestones. I just love winning matches for the team, and that’s what I play for,” Rawal, 25, said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine, who had her furniture disturbed by pacer Renuka Singh for just six runs, admitted that her bowlers failed to deliver after the Powerplay. “It’s hard. After any [game], you can dissect every single ball. I thought we were outstanding with the ball in the Powerplay. It’s always hard when you get a partnership of 200 plus, you’re going to be under pressure. I guess for the Indian line-up, they were able to come out and swing pretty freely and take the game on and they probably got a few too many,” a disappointed Devine said.
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