28 December,2024 06:28 AM IST | Vadodara | PTI
Deepti Sharma
Senior off-spinner Deepti Sharma did the star turn with career-best figures of 6-31 before doing her bit with the bat as India completed a 3-0 whitewash of the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in the final Women's ODI here on Friday.
Having bowled out West Indies for 162 after Deepti's superlative performance and pacer Renuka Singh's (4-29) excellent show with the new ball, India recovered after a top-order wobble to reach the target of 163 in 28.2 overs.
India were in a spot of bother at 73-4 but Deepti (39 not out in 48 balls) used all her experience to see the team through with plenty of overs remaining.
Deepti said her approach to try and extract more turn from the surface helped her return career-best bowling figures.
"I have been doing a lot of hard work. My focus is to take as many wickets as possible and make as many runs as possible for the team. That has always backed me," Deepti told the media after the win.
"Yesterday's practice session helped me a lot. I spoke to bowling coach Avishkar Salvi sir as to how I can improve my bowling. He asked me to focus on getting more turn and how much help we are getting from the wicket. That helped me a lot," she added.
India's strong showing in the white-ball series against the West Indies - the hosts also won the T20I series 2-1 - helped them bounce back from a disappointing Australia tour.
"The experience of playing overseas definitely matters, but one special aspect of this Indian team is that whether we win or lose, we stay together. We go through those ups and downs as a team and we always back each other," she said.
Deepti said she remains committed to giving her best, both with the ball and the bat.
"As an all-rounder, I always think about how much I can contribute to the team. When you win 3-0, there is always a good feeling," she said.
"I like challenges. Whenever I face tough situations, I always like to step up for the team. You don't always get into crunch situations as a player but I like to play this role as an all-rounder."
"Today, I backed myself to put on a crucial partnership with Jemi (Jemimah Rodrigues) so that we could get closer to our total," said Deepti, who put on 56 runs for the fifth wicket with Jemimah (29).
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