Star India wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh has said that she was in good touch ahead of the T20 World Cup, but she wasn’t getting runs, adding that the knock against Pakistan will help her as it gave her much-needed confidence.
Ace India batter Smriti Mandhana’s batting was grace personified as her regal 44-ball 68, along with Richa’s cameo, took India to a fighting 170/6 against Pakistan.
Richa’s 17-ball 34 was pivotal in taking India to a competitive 170 and to a thumping 64-run victory over Pakistan.
“I think the knock (against Pakistan) will help me really well because it gave me confidence. I think I got the confidence from the practice match we played. I am looking forward to the next matches,” Richa said at the pre-match press conference.
India will take on the Netherlands on Wednesday at Headingley in Leeds. This will be Richa’s first outing against the Dutch.
Despite making a resounding start to the T20 World Cup, Richa said that India can’t take the Dutch team lightly.
Richa had a difficult run heading into the ICC showpiece, managing scores of 0, 6, 8 and 4, before bouncing back with a solid 68 against England in a Cardiff warm-up match.
“I am just focused on my game. I was trying to work more on my drills, etc at the nets. I was in good touch, but I wasn’t getting runs. So, I spoke to Harry di (Harmanpreet Kaur) and seniors like Smriti di (Mandhana) and (head coach Amol) Muzumdar sir too,” Richa said.
“They told me to play my game and just focus. It helped me. So, that innings helped me to come back to form and confidence before the Pakistan game. Yes, the situation was different (in the England match), some early wickets were down, and I had so many overs left with,” Richa added.
