Vadodara, Oct 28 Young left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma’s maiden five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe on Wednesday was the result of focused work on her mental and physical strength, bowling control, and ability to read batters.
Vaishnavi has now played three ODIs and all of her nine wickets so far came in the last two games of the three-match series, which she played after a gap of one year.
Vaishnavi said the break she got before the matches gave her an opportunity to work on different aspects of her game, understand the demands of fielding and batting, and identify areas that needed improvement in bowling.
Reflecting on how the time away from competition helped her develop as a cricketer, she said, “I got a good gap in which I was able to work on myself. I was able to work on my mental strength and physical strength.
“I understood what are the requirements in the game regarding fielding and batting, and which areas should be covered in bowling. I feel like my game has developed a lot,” Vaishnavi said at post-series press conference.
A key part of Vaishnavi’s preparation was improving her understanding of match situations and approaching each delivery with a clear plan rather than being preoccupied with taking wickets. She wanted to focus on executing her plans and remain in the moment.
“My mindset was that we have to execute the plan that we have made. First, let’s focus on the dots of the plan. And second, if the wickets are coming according to that, then it’s great. Rest, I just wanted to enjoy myself at the time (and) stay in the present.
“The more I understand the game, the better it is for me. What is the situation? Or what does the batter want to do? So my entire focus was on all this.”
Elaborating on the areas she targeted in training, Vaishnavi said, “First, I improved staying calm. Second, that I am following the batter till the end. As a spinner, we believe that we can follow the batter. So I worked on this. And rest, on normal reps, repetitions. That’s all.”
Repetition was another important component of her preparation, helping her develop greater control over her deliveries and improve the ability to bowl consistently in a particular area.
Explaining how the additional work translated into better execution, she said, “Yes, I have tried to bring more control on the ball. With the repetition as well. Rest, the more I did single-wickets (bowling), the more control and consistency I had on the ball so that I can hit the ball continuously in one place.”
With nine wickets across two games, Vaishnavi’s recent returns underline the impact of her emphasis on discipline, consistency and reading the game. Her maiden five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe offered a reward for the work she put into strengthening both the mental and technical aspects of her bowling.
Really pleased with how bowlers turned up: Mandhana
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Skipper Smriti Mandhana was pleased with the team’s dominant performance against Zimbabwe, highlighting the bowlers’ efforts in restricting the opposition to 131 and Vaishnavi’s five-wicket haul.
“Three ODI wins and a good start to the championship points cycle for the next World Cup. Really pleased with the bowlers who turned up and restricted them to 131. Vaishnavi got a five-for, and I am really happy she got a five-for,” Mandhana said.
She added that India had aimed to dominate the series, acknowledging that Zimbabwe had shown their ability to compete.
“We wanted to go out there and dominate, and that is what we discussed. Apart from the first T20I, we played dominating cricket,” she said.
Mandhana also pointed to the pacers’ approach of targeting the stumps as an aspect the team had specifically discussed.
“The way our pacers were trying to hit the stumps, that is something we discussed,” she added.
(PTI News)
