Pratika silences the critics with a gritty hundred

A home World Cup comes with its own set of challenges. And the last few weeks weren’t easy for young opener Pratika Rawal as her strike rate had come under scrutiny.

However, the 25-year-old silenced the critics on Thursday with a gritty century, which helped India book a berth in the semifinals after defeating New Zealand by 53 runs via DLS method. While Pratika stamped her class, she also forged a record 212-run opening stand with Smriti Mandhana — India’s highest in World Cups — to provide the team a dream start.

“I was not able to middle the ball as well as I could in the previous matches, but I am very happy that I kept my nerve. I just focused on everything that came my way,” she said.

Pratika made it a point to not dwell over the strike rate. “There are certain templates that I like to play on. I have had a lot of discussions with the coaches. I have had (multiple) talks about how I can progress with my game (or) what is my contribution to the team. On that front, I just try to contribute whatever is best for the team,” Pratika said.

Praika also revealed the frequent chats with Smriti helped her immensely. “The whole conversation that happens when we are batting is the calculation part — how much to get in order to set up a big total and when we are chasing how to break it down into fewer parts so that we can make it easier,” she added.