‘Self-belief and bowling changes helped overcome lean patch’
India all-rounder Deepti Sharma struck form with an impactful display against South Africa in the fourth T20I, crediting renewed self-belief and subtle adjustments to her bowling for ending a prolonged lean run.
Deepti had endured poor form since the T20I series in Australia in February, managing just one double-digit score in nine matches across formats before her unbeaten 36 and match-winning five-for in India’s 14-run win over South Africa on Saturday — a timely return to form that eased selection concerns ahead of the T20 World Cup in England and Wales in June.
Even though the hosts had already sealed the series 3-1 with one game to spare, Deepti, a vital cog in India’s maiden ODI World Cup-winning campaign, said unwavering self-belief through a prolonged slump helped her fight her way out of the hole.
“First is, I always keep believing in myself and second is line and length, which line I have to bowl. And basically today, I was more focused on my offspin ball other than the little faster one,” said the spin-bowling all-rounder after her sterling show on Saturday.
She said that approach gave her confidence, while adding the dew made it tricky for bowlers to judge their pace, but discussions within the bowling group helped them make the right adjustments.
“Yeah, because it was a little dewish over here. So, we just had a conversation with the bowlers as well. Just bowl in the right areas and that will give you results,” added Deepti, who had gone wicketless in the previous three T20Is here and managed just two runs, a lean run that had also contributed to India’s heavy defeats.
On the batting front, Deepti said she and Richa Ghosh (34 not out) had decided to preserve their wickets and bat deep, a plan that helped India post a competitive 185 for five through an unbroken 65-run stand.
Deepti then capped the effort with a stellar bowling spell as India restricted the Proteas to 171 for nine in the chase.
“I think Richa batted well. She finished well. And we were just talking that we have to play till the 20th over and make sure we will have a good partnership. And then we finished well. So, we’re calculating each and every over and that’s how we played there,” added the 28-year-old Deepti.
She added that despite the series defeat, India would carry plenty of learnings into the T20 World Cup, along with renewed self-belief drawn from the way the team responded.
“I think a lot of positive from this series. And especially today’s game gave us a lot of confidence going forward and future games as well. Whenever we play, we play as a team, as a bowling unit or as a batting unit. Same belief we have to keep going forward as well,” she said.
“I think, as a bowling unit and as a batting unit, both played really well (on Saturday). So, we will see then how we will do it (in the final game) and definitely will finish well as well,” concluded Deepti.
