India all-rounder Deepti Sharma recorded a fifer in the clash against Pakistan to give the team a flying start in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The Women in Blue kicked off their tournament campaign against neighbours
and arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, June 14, at Edgbaston, Birmingham. After opting to bat first, the Indian side posted 170 with the loss of six wickets, riding on Smriti Mandhana’s 44-ball 68, followed by Kaur’s 35-ball 36, and Richa Ghosh’s quickfire 17-ball 34.
The Pakistani side, after losing the control of the game in the first innings, aimed to claw back in the game, faced the wrath of the Indian bowling unit led by Deepti Sharma. Sharma got the side their first celebration in the form of Gull Feroza on the fifth ball of the fifth over. Later, she dismissed Ayesha Zafar, Fatima Sana, Aliya Riaz, Nashra Sandhu, and Tasmia Rubab to record a fifer. Not only this, but she also dismissed wicketkeeper-batter Muneeba Ali to record a fifer.
With this, she completed a fifer by conceding 10 runs in four overs at an economy of 2.50, recording her second fifer in Women’s T20I. Not only this, but she also became the highest wicket-taker in Women’s T20I with 166 wickets, with 350 wickets
I am very grateful, Hanuman Ji is great: Deepti Sharma as she bags Player of the Match
Deepti Sharma bagged the Player of the Match Award for her five-wicket haul against Pakistan. She expressed her gratitude towards the team and almighty and said, “I am very grateful. I like these kinds of wickets, all credit goes to the team and I am very grateful, Hanuman Ji is great. I like ICC tournaments I think, from there I started, so I like it.”
She also spoke about bowling on the surface, “I think because it's turning, so I varied my pace in every ball and every over. That helped me a lot. Yeah, because it's turning, so I just have belief that I have to bowl a little bit slower in the air and just believe in myself and bowling in the right areas. That's what I was doing, yeah.”
Speaking about the game, she added, “It's an amazing crowd here and a lot of people are coming and supporting the Indian team today. And that's what we want in every game, let's keep coming and keep supporting. And especially I wanted to mention about Smriti and Harry Di's partnership. From there, we threw the momentum.”
Earlier during batting, Sharma remained not out at 12 runs in nine deliveries with a combination of one boundary.
