Chennai, Jul 1 (PTI) Spinner Sneh Rana said India were always confident of closing out the match despite the South African fightback in the second innings of the one-off Test here on Monday.
Despite their early domination, India had to wait till the fourth and final day of the Test for the eventual 10-wicket victory.
“Are you demotivating us? (chuckles) We had positive vibes throughout (the match) and it never did cross our minds that South Africa was taking the game away from us,” Rana said in the post-match press meet.
“The match was always inclined towards India. We kept believing that we could take a wicket anytime, and that’s exactly what happened,” she added.
Rana said it was all about keeping calm when the South Africans were offering resistance.
“There will be phases during Tests when the opposition will build partnerships. But to keep ourselves calm and keep our minds going, we chirped and cracked jokes among ourselves which helped to keep us awake,” she said.
Rana bagged 10 wickets in the match for 188 runs, the second-best Test bowling figures by an Indian in Tests after former pacer Jhulan Goswami’s 10 for 78.
The spinner said she was working on her skills at the bowlers’ pre-series camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
“We don’t go really into the technical part because the time is extremely less. But we did plan what we could bowl, what we could do and how to bring the best out of ourselves. Be it our stock ball or the variation, we only worked on those aspects,” she replied to a PTI query.
“Obviously, the pitch (here) was favouring the batters. Conditions were difficult (for the bowlers), but you get more-or-less similar conditions everywhere nowadays.
“Thus we need to consistently work on variations and stock balls and when and how to use them efficiently. For example, how you are going to implement them against top batters like Laura (Wolvaardt) and Marizanne Kapp. We need to carry forward these small learnings,” he elaborated.
Rana termed the win over South Africa as “satisfactory.” “As far as satisfaction is concerned, we are delighted, especially when you defeat the best teams with great performance, particularly when you need it the most. So, nothing’s more satisfactory than that,” she said.
Having played three Tests in the last six months, Rana felt there should be more bilateral matches in women’s cricket.
“Test is one of the best formats of the sport, and the more it is played, the better for women’s cricket.
“Thanks to BCCI again for reviving the multi-day (domestic) competitions, and I feel we should play more than a Test (per series),” she concluded. PTI AYG UNG
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.