"Knock Against Pakistan Gave Me Confidence": Richa Ghosh's Clear Take
Richa Ghosh's 17-ball 34 was pivotal in taking India to a competitive 170, and to a thumping 64-run win over Pakistan last Sunday at Birmingham.
Richa Ghosh shrugged off a prolonged lean patch with a match-turning cameo against Pakistan, and the Indian wicketkeeper-batter said the knock has filled her with confidence ahead of the next assignments in the Women's T20 World Cup. Ghosh's 17-ball 34 was pivotal in taking India to a competitive 170, and to a thumping 64-run win over Pakistan last Sunday at Birmingham. “I think the knock (against Pakistan) will help me really well because it gave me confidence,” Ghosh said on the eve of India's match against the Netherlands here on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old said her fifty against England in a warm-up match also played its part in boosting her self-belief.
“I think I got the confidence from the practice match we played. I'm looking forward to the next matches,” she added.
The Bengal cricketer was struggling for runs in the run-up to the ICC showpiece, having amassed 0, 6, 8, 4 before she turned it around with a 68 against England at Cardiff in a warm-up match.
“I'm 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 was not getting runs.
“So, I spoke to Harry di (Harmanpreet Kaur) and seniors like Smriti di (Mandhana) and (head coach Amol) Muzumdar sir too. They told me to play my game and just focus. It helped me,” she said.
Ghosh said all those efforts reflected in the outing against England.
“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. So, I stayed there and played my own game. So, that's why I got the confidence,” she said.
Ghosh had a crucial 45-run association with Deepti Sharma for the sixth wicket against Pakistan, and she was all praise for her senior partner.
“Not only in the Indian team, I have played with her in Bengal as well in domestic cricket. We often have a great conversation on and off the field. That has helped us because we both know what we can do.
“We know that if the ball is not there to hit, we can rotate strike or we can give both of us a chance to hit big shots. We really know each other really well,” she added.
Despite making a resounding beginning to the World Cup, Ghosh said India cannot take the Dutch side lightly.
“I saw them before our Pakistan match. I saw their games. They are good bowlers. So, they're doing really well, and I think that's why they're here and we're not taking any team easily. We're just looking forward to it,” she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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