Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav bamboozled the Australian batting line-up to script India’s convincing 17-run victory in the opening game of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 at Sydney Showground Stadium on Friday (February 21).
See Also: Cricket fraternity hails India’s convincing win against Australia in tournament opener
The Player-of-the-Match performance was a testimony to Poonam’s immense self-belief since a finger fracture had left her participation in the showpiece event in jeopardy.
In fact, she was injured during a pre-tournament camp in December and missed the preparatory tri-series in Australia.
"I did not know myself it (injury) would turn out to be this bad. After the injury I focused on the diet and on fitness," Poonam was quoted as saying by ICC.
"I was confident I could bowl at any time. (WV) Raman Sir (India head coach) asked if I was mentally ready. I told him mentally I was, but it was also necessary for me to be physically prepared," she added.
Defending the total of 132, India bundled out the hosts for 115 with Poonam (4 for 19) doing the bulk of the damage. Alyssa Healy (51), Rachael Haynes (6), Ellyse Perry (0) and Jess Jonassen (2) were her victims.
The 28-year-old leggie said she never lost hope of featuring in the T20 World Cup.
"Within myself, I had the belief I would make the comeback in time. The good thing is I got hurt about one-and-a-half months before the World Cup."
"God is great — whatever bad had to happen has already happened."
India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur also hailed Poonam for her herculean effort.
"She's someone who always bowls for the team, and it's not easy to play because she's a little slower in the air, but in T20 format she loves to bowl with a nice lead," Kaur said.
"When you have to hit her, you need to show some patience, and you need to have very good skill. I think that is a reason we kept her bowling, and we gave her when we needed a wicket, and she did a great job."
"You get one wicket then you can always turn the game for you, and that's what happened."
