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When You Know Youre Middling The Ball Well, Batting Becomes Very Easy: Pratika Rawal

Pratika Rawal: India opener Pratika Rawal credited her preparation and confidence at the crease for her unbeaten century against Zimbabwe in the first ODI at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara, on Friday, as the reigning 50-over World Cup champions registered a nine-wicket victory in the three-match series opener. Rawal struck 100 not out off 96 deliveries, sharing an opening stand with Smriti Mandhana before finishing the chase alongside Shafali Verma. Reflecting on her rhythm with the bat, the opener said feeling in control of her strokes helped her avoid unnecessary pressure. As a batter when you tap that bat, you feel confidence. Every day, obviously, is different but when you know that youre middling the ball well, your balls are going into those gaps, youre hitting the shots where you want to hit, so it becomes actually easier because youre not very clustered in your mind. You dont have multiple thoughts in your mind, so it becomes very easy when youre batting in that sense. It was one of those days and Im really happy that it came through really well, Pratika said in a BCCI video. The century also brought back memories of Rawals first ODI hundred, a milestone she had not realised coincided with the days match until coach Amol Muzumdar pointed it out before the innings. Mandhana then encouraged her to recreate the feat. I had no idea to be very honest that this was the day when I scored my first ODI 100. But we were sitting before going into bat and there was this match coming on TV which was New Zealand against India, and I was asking Amol sir, this was around that time onlyand then he said this is the exact day when you scored a 100, and then Smriti di said, Chalo aaj bhi karte hain phirlets just recreate it; its the exact same number of runsthe kind of partnership that we had that day. So its good memories, World Cup memoriesits always good to be back in that groove, she stated. Rawal also pointed to the conditions and her recent work in practice as factors behind her fluent knock, explaining that a clear plan helped her remain aggressive without becoming preoccupied with the scoring rate. Luckily, the wicket was in our favour. It was a flat track, the ball wasnt doing much, plus the kind of field placement that they had put helped us a lot. Also, I think when youre batting well in the nets, when you have prepared well in your practise sessions, you feel that kind of confidence, you feel that kind of stability in your mind that it doesnt take a lot from you in terms of being stressed out, where I have to hit, Oh the runs are not coming. So its basically how you prepare, and I wanted to play in that manner.I wanted to score a lot of boundaries; I wanted to go about it because this is something that Ive worked on recently, so Im really happy that it all turned out well, she added. The opener also praised spinner Sree Charani, who claimed four wickets to help restrict Zimbabwe to 197, highlighting her ability to make breakthroughs even when the pitch offered little assistance. Luckily, the wicket was in our favour. It was a flat track, the ball wasnt doing much, plus the kind of field placement that they had put helped us a lot. Also, I think when youre batting well in the nets, when you have prepared well in your practise sessions, you feel that kind of confidence, you feel that kind of stability in your mind that it doesnt take a lot from you in terms of being stressed out, where I have to hit, Oh the runs are not coming. So its basically how you prepare, and I wanted to play in that manner.I wanted to score a lot of boundaries; I wanted to go about it because this is something that Ive worked on recently, so Im really happy that it all turned out well, she added. Also Read: Special Cricket Stories Article Source: IANS