"Richa Ghosh has always been my favorite player" - Poonam Yadav on India's player to watch out for in IND vs SL 2024 Women's T20 World Cup clash
Poonam Yadav has picked Richa Ghosh as the player to watch out for in India's 2024 Women's T20 World Cup clash against Sri Lanka. She noted that the wicketkeeper-batter has always been her favorite player.
India suffered a 58-run loss in their T20 World Cup Group A opener against New Zealand in Dubai. They bounced back to beat Pakistan by six wickets and will face Sri Lanka at the same venue on Wednesday, October 9.
During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Poonam was asked to pick the player to watch out for in the India-Sri Lanka clash.
"Richa Ghosh has always been my favorite player because whenever I have seen her bat, the way she bats, she is powerful, but you also need brains along with power, and she has that," she responded.
The Indian leg-spinner praised Richa for being judicious in her strokeplay.
"She goes for big hits only when it's required. Otherwise, she plays with singles and doubles. She is an expert in playing the cut shot. I want Richa Ghosh to perform splendidly," Poonam elaborated.
Richa has smashed 872 runs at a strike rate of 137.97 in 46 T20I innings. However, she hasn't been at her best in the ongoing T20 World Cup, scoring 12 runs against New Zealand and being dismissed for a golden duck against Pakistan.
"You need to bat slightly cautiously" - Poonam Yadav on India's learnings ahead of Sri Lanka clash
Poonam Yadav was asked about India's learnings heading into the Sri Lanka clash in the same interaction.
"There are a lot of learnings when you lose a match (against New Zealand). The way you bowled, I would say you have many things to learn. You played three pacers but you got Pooja (Vastrakar) to bowl only one over. You could have stopped Deepti (Sharma) and continued with Pooja, and you need to bat slightly cautiously," she replied.
The diminutive spinner added that the Indian batters need to bat responsibly and get their eye in before going for the big shots.
"The top four or five batters need to play responsibly. In whichever position you go to bat, take a little time, and then score your runs. First rotate the strike through singles and doubles and then go for big hits. I feel the Indian team needs a lot of prudence both in batting and bowling," Poonam Yadav elaborated.
Harmanpreet Kaur (44) is the only Indian batter to aggregate more than 40 runs in their first two games. The Indian skipper, who retired hurt due to a neck injury in their last game against Pakistan, will hope to be fit for the crucial match against Sri Lanka.