Team India fielding coach R Sridhar lauded the young Indian women’s team opener Shafali Verma and said that the men’s team has been religiously following the women's team Test match against England.
17-year-old Shafali Verma impressed everyone with her strokeplay on her Test debut against England women. In the first innings, the Indian opener scored a scintillating 96-run knock, which included 13 fours and two sixes.
She also stitched a 167-run opening partnership with her opening partner Smriti Mandhana, who scored 78 runs, in the team’s first innings.
However, after being forced to follow on, the swashbuckling India batter once again set the stage on fire by scoring unbeaten 55 runs at stumps on Day 3.
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During the virtual press conference, Team India fielding coach R Sridhar lauded women’s team opener, Shafali Verma, saying that the 17-year-old reminds everyone of Virender Sehwag.
“Shafali, so much reminds us of Viru (Virender Sehwag), doesn’t she? The way she plays and her mindset is so clear, so we are enjoying the innings from Shafali. I wish she had got a hundred in the first innings,” R Sridhar said during the virtual press conference.
Sridhar lauded 167 runs opening partnership between Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana saying that it was a ‘rollicking start’ and a great Test match is going on.
“And well played to both Smriti (Mandhana) and Shafali, what a rollicking start they gave us in the first innings and unfortunately, we couldn’t capitalise on that, but great test match going there,” he said.
Sridhar admitted that the whole Indian men’s team whenever they had time off from training have been glued to the Test match and they encouraging the girls.
“We have not missed a bit of the girls’ game right from day one. We have almost seen it, whenever we can except for the times we were out for practice.
“All of us have seen the game, it has been live going on in our rooms, in our team room, in our breakfast area and even today, when we are (were) for the rain to stop, all of us were sitting together and watching the girl’s game and encouraging our girls,” he said.
Sridhar observed that the team had begun its fightback in the Test led by a steadfast effort by Deepti Sharma.
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“Now they are fighting to get back into the game, claw their way back into the game, seeing Deepti (Sharma) put up a stoic performance there, she has played a few balls for her one or two runs when I left (for the press conference),” he said.
R Sridhar further said that there’s no possibility of a change in the Indian playing XI after the opening day of the WTC final against New Zealand was washed out, insisting that the chosen players are capable of making conditions irrelevant.
(PTI inputs)
