Shafali, Richa modern batters: Harmanpreet

Cape Town, February 16

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur believes young opener Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh not being groomed in the traditional mould like some stalwarts is helping them experiment with shots and bring a different flavour to the line-up.

Both Verma (28 off 23 balls) and middle-order batter Ghosh (44 not out off 32 balls) played some daring shots on Wednesday as India defeated the West Indies by six wickets with 11 balls to spare in their Women’s T20 World Cup group match here.

Harmanpreet said the two youngsters enjoy playing the short balls, which is a move-on from the traditional batting style wherein one would usually prefer conservative strokes like the drives and cuts. Complimenting the two after the pair played a vital innings with the bat, Harmanpreet said: “Well, they (Shafali and Richa) are someone who really like to play short balls. They are not the traditional Indian batters who like to play the drives and stuff like that. I think they are someone who really enjoy the short balls and they are now with the senior team for a long time.”

“I guess they have played more than 50 matches now. They know what international cricket is and what type of balls you are going to face, when you are going to bat, what speed is going to come and I think they are mature enough. Good to see that they are taking responsibility and taking us through from any situation,” she added.

With Ghosh coming at a crucial juncture after India had lost three wickets for 43 runs, the wicketkeeper-batter upped the ante with an unbeaten 44, which was studded with five boundaries.