Pratika Rawal says confidence made her century against Zimbabwe easy

Pratika Rawal credited her preparation and confidence for her unbeaten century against Zimbabwe in the first ODI. She reflected on her batting rhythm, recalled her first ODI hundred and praised Sree Charani for taking four wickets in India’s nine-wicket victory.

New Delhi: India opener Pratika Rawal credited her preparation and confidence at the crease for her unbeaten century against Zimbabwe in the first ODI at the BCA Stadium in Kotambi, Vadodara, on Friday, as the reigning 50-over World Cup champions registered a nine-wicket victory in the three-match series opener.

Rawal struck 100 not out off 96 deliveries, sharing an opening stand with Smriti Mandhana before finishing the chase alongside Shafali Verma. Reflecting on her rhythm with the bat, the opener said feeling in control of her strokes helped her avoid unnecessary pressure.

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“As a batter, when you tap that bat, you feel confident. Every day, obviously, is different, but when you know that you’re middling the ball well, your shots are going into those gaps, and you’re hitting the shots where you want to hit, it actually becomes easier because you’re not very cluttered in your mind. You don’t have multiple thoughts in your mind, so it becomes very easy when you’re batting in that sense. It was one of those days, and I’m really happy that it came through really well,” Pratika said in a BCCI video.

The century also brought back memories of Rawal’s first ODI hundred, a milestone she had not realised coincided with the day’s match until coach Amol Muzumdar pointed it out before the innings. Mandhana then encouraged her to recreate the feat.

“I had no idea, to be very honest, that this was the day when I scored my first ODI 100. But we were sitting before going in to bat, and there was this match coming on TV, which was New Zealand against India. I was asking Amol sir, as it was around that time only, and then he said this is the exact day when you scored a 100. Then Smriti di said, ‘Chalo aaj bhi karte hain phir’… let’s just recreate it; it’s the exact same number of runs and the kind of partnership that we had that day. So it’s good memories, World Cup memories. It’s always good to be back in that groove,” she stated.

Rawal also pointed to the conditions and her recent work in practice as factors behind her fluent knock, explaining that a clear plan helped her remain aggressive without becoming preoccupied with the scoring rate.

“Luckily, the wicket was in our favour. It was a flat track, the ball wasn’t doing much, and the kind of field placement they had put in helped us a lot. Also, I think when you’re batting well in the nets, when you have prepared well in your practice sessions, you feel that kind of confidence and stability in your mind. It doesn’t take a lot from you in terms of being stressed out about where you have to hit or thinking, ‘Oh, the runs are not coming.’ So it’s basically how you prepare, and I wanted to play in that manner. I wanted to score a lot of boundaries; I wanted to go about it because this is something that I’ve worked on recently, so I’m really happy that it all turned out well,” she added.

The opener also praised spinner Sree Charani, who claimed four wickets to help restrict Zimbabwe to 197, highlighting her ability to make breakthroughs even when the pitch offered little assistance.

“I think Sree Charani is a special player. There are no ifs and buts about it. I’ve seen her bowl since her debut, and the way she has grown is commendable. On a wicket like this, where the ball isn’t doing much, being able to take those wickets and break those partnerships is commendable. It’s a long way for her, and if she keeps her head down, she’s going to go way up and be in that legends category. She has that calibre; it’s just that she has to believe,” Pratika concluded.