"Wanted to score in every area, as much as possible in least amount of deliveries": Deepti on mindset as batter during 2025 WC win

New Delhi [India], November 21 (ANI): Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma, the 'Player of the Tournament' in Women in Blue's maiden 50-over World Cup triumph earlier this month, said that improvements in her batting was due to practicing with her elder brother back home in Agra adding that her mantra as a batter was to score everywhere and as much as possible in least amount of balls.

The 28-year-old had an all-timer World Cup campaign, which erased the pain of the heartbreaking nine-run loss to England in the 2017 final, as part of which Deepti succumbed during a shocking batting collapse from 191/3 to 219 while chasing 229.

In this tournament, she scored 215 runs in seven innings with three fifties and took 22 wickets. Saving her absolute lethal for the last, she hit a run-a-ball half-century and took a game-changing five-wicket haul in the final against South Africa.

A massive reason for Deepti's success with the bat was an uptick in strike rate over the years, from 62.26 in 2023 to 75.30 last year and currently at 98.16 this year.

Speaking about the work she put into her batting, she told ESPNCricinfo that her mindset was to bat with an aggressive strike rate, like it is the case in T20Is, adding that both formats have now become "equal in the sense" that one has to use as many lofted shots as possible and keep their SR high.

"When I used to come home to Agra, I used to practice specific shots with bhaiyya [elder brother] to develop them and make them my strength. It was not just about T20s. People often think that we play lofted shots only in T20s. But I feel that T20 and the 50-overs game have become equal in that sense. You need the same strike rate in one-dayers too. This was my mindset: whenever I bat, whatever I have developed in practice or improved in my nets, I should go with the same mindset and apply what I have learned in my game. Whether I got a few balls or a lot of balls, I had belief in my natural game. I did not want to play shots only on one side; I wanted to play according to the ball, whether it was in front or on the covers. I wanted to score in every area and as much as possible with the fewest balls. This was my mindset in this World Cup," she said.

Deepti recalled working on a one-handed swing for four or six in her net sessions.

"It does not come to you overnight. I had to practise a lot for lofted shots with my brother. The other was to hit the ball straight behind the bowler. These things I worked on mainly for the World Cup, and I saw the results," she added.

Before this, a major feather in Deepti's cap was the 'Most Valuable Player' award for UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024, with 295 runs in eight innings, including three fifties, a strike rate of over 136, and 10 wickets at an average of over 21. She termed that season as one "very important" to her as she was often promoted up the order to number three and four.

"I did not bat in any one position in that tournament. Initially, I used to bat at No. 6 or 7, and then suddenly I had to bat at No. 3 and 4. When I spoke to the [UP Warriorz] management at the time, I said I am always ready to bat early or higher up in the order, I am happy to do that for the team. That was my mindset, that it does not matter which number I am going to bat at. I just have to play my game for the team. If you are looking at a good ball and hitting good shots, you will only see four or six on the scoreboard. That is how you can build for the team and get maximum runs for the team in 20 overs. This was my mindset when I was playing in the WPL," she concluded.

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