It was a proud moment for India and all of us women in the country when India beat South Africa at the very first women’s T20I. The T20Is were held in the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium in Surat on Tuesday. The stadium was packed with supporters cheering on the women players of the Indian cricket team. Thousands of men and women turned up to watch the match and it was a full house indeed.
The women who are a part of Team India are: Harmanpreet Kaur (Capt), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-capt.), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Harleen Deol, Anuja Patil, Shafali Verma, Mansi Joshi. There are a number of young women in the Indian women’s cricket team as of now- the youngest being Shafali Verma, the 15-year-old.
Over 10 000 fans have turned out to watch the opening T20i between India and South Africa. Well done to the people of Surat for showing such great support for women’s cricket! Shout out to @BCCI for growing the game 🙌 #IndvSA #AlwaysRising pic.twitter.com/vDcEGTzG9V
— Kass Naidoo (@KassNaidoo) September 24, 2019
Commentator @chopraanjum captures the mood in Surat. It's a full house at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium.🏟️ #INDWvsSAW
Follow the game – https://t.co/QFRNkBAGt9 pic.twitter.com/MhhfPRGLwv
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 24, 2019
The star of the match was undoubtedly Deepti Sharma, she was the lone wolf who helped us beat South Africa by a mere 11 runs. Deepti managed to take down three wickets. Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav got two wickets each while captain Hamanpreet Kaur took down one. Deepti made her way to the record books with her victory and became the first Indian cricketer to bowl three maidens in the T20Is!
BCCI’s Women, the official handle of the Indian Women’s cricket team was elated to share news of Deepti’s victory. They said she spun a web around SA batters with her impressive bowling!
WATCH: @Deepti_Sharma06 ’s match-winning spell of 3/8
Three straight maiden overs and three wickets from the all-rounder as she spun a web around the SA batters. @Paytm #INDWvsSAW
LINK🎥 – https://t.co/xZKHvuoXcf pic.twitter.com/dWZG2LYkQx
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 24, 2019
Deepti was on a roll in a mere 18 balls with no runs scored, she managed to take down three wickets from the South African team. 18 balls, 18 dots & 3 wickets and that’s how your roll! Well done, Deepti!
18 balls, 18 dots & 3 wickets.@Deepti_Sharma06 on an absolute roll in Surat. @Paytm #INDWvSAW
Details – https://t.co/QFRNkBAGt9 pic.twitter.com/q1w20ULMkv
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 24, 2019
Captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, Harmanpreet Kaur in conversation with a leading daily said “As you know, World Cup is coming. That’s why we are playing more T20s ahead of the tournament. We have 10-15 games to experiment and give a chance to youngsters and see how they fit into the side.”
Our preparations for #WT20 start now: @mandhana_smriti
India's T20 vice-captain speaks about the role of spinners and the faith everyone has in @ImHarmanpreet's big-hitting skills.
Full video here 📹📹https://t.co/8NEZyVywFX pic.twitter.com/O7i9HiL3rK
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 25, 2019
“I was nervous at the halfway stage but we knew that we’d have something for the bowlers. They did a great job. We bowled how I had planned. Got help from the wicket too. The plan was to bowl wicket to wicket and it was turning, so I pitched it up too,” Captain Kaur further added.
After the glorious performance of the women in Surat, we can’t wait to see what the rest of the T20I matches have in store for us!
Featured Image: Twitter
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