Follow UsThere was nothing that Deepti Sharma couldn’t do on Friday night. A 48-ball 59 with the bat was followed by a spectacular hat-trick at the backend of Delhi Capitals’ innings handed UP Warriorz an unlikely win.
This was particularly special for two reasons - UP were staying behind the chasing pack for a multitude of factors and needed a win to stay afloat, and secondly, Deepti’s personal run of form was going through a barren patch. The all-round performance on Friday night yielded her immunity and what the side could expect from her going forward.
“I've actually seen some quite big improvement in Deepti over the course of this tournament,” UP Warriorz coach Jon Lewis said in the post-match conversation. “We've been encouraging her to shift her mindset a little bit in terms of her intent to score at the start of her innings. And I think she's played much better than last year where she was a little bit reticent to taking risks.
“And in T20 cricket you have to take calculated risks to score at the rate that is required, especially on small grounds with fast outfields. The bit we're trying to encourage her to develop is when the asking rate is a bit higher than run-a-ball, so she can start her innings at the pace of the game and take the game away from there. She definitely has the ability to do that... and I've seen quite an improvement on that front."
Lewis further pointed out how Deepti has massively improved from her regular tendency to get caught up in the innings. Lewis stated that batting down the order meant you had to take calculated risks and applauded Deepti for doing exactly that in the Delhi Capitals clash.
“When you're lower down the order, you're able to bat [more freely] instead of holding back your wicket as a batter would higher up. Sometimes, just to help you get through that initial learning period of upping your strike rate, it's healthier and easier to be listed lower down the order because you have less balls to face and have to go. When you come higher up the order, you feel like you kind of have to cement the innings and then go. Deepti has been fantastic at going and staying going,” the Englishman added.