IND-W vs WI-W: Renuka Singh Thakur elated after claiming maiden ODI five-wicket haul
IND-W vs WI-W: Renuka Singh Thakur elated after claiming maiden ODI five-wicket haul
Renuka Singh Thakur loves bowling in-swingers, and since her early days, she has been working hard to master the craft.
At the Kotambi Stadium here on Sunday, Renuka delivered some unplayable in-swingers en route to her maiden five-wicket haul in women’s ODI, and the Indian fast bowler was glad that her hard work paid off.
“It really feels good to claim a maiden fifer in ODIs because it’s hard to get wickets in this format,” Renuka said, after guiding India to a 211-run win against the West Indies in the series opener.
“I have worked hard on my in-swing since my early days and I constantly hone my skills so that I can enjoy more success…”
On the eve of the game, India head coach Amol Muzumdar said that dew will play a factor in the series, but Renuka and Titas Sadhu looked unbothered by dew in their spells. “Our plan was to bowl stump-to-stump and that helped us. Since it got a bit cold in the evening and dew was settling in, it helped us,” Renuka said.
Leading up to the series, Renuka, Titas and Saima Thakor had long sessions under the watchful eyes of coach Omkar Salvi, and Renuka said, “We were discussing how to bowl under lights and which deliveries will be effective. We tried out several deliveries – including some in-swingers and out-swingers – and it was a good session. Since we prepare together, we know each others’ strengths…”
After losing the ODI series in Australia earlier this month, the chips were down, but the players did not lose hope. “We kept believing in ourselves and we knew things would eventually get better,” Renuka said.
West Indies coach Shane Deitz was disappointed with the team’s defeat. He, however, defended the side’s decision to win the toss and bowl first.
“The idea was to get some early wickets, put India under pressure and restrict them under 250 and chase it down. There’s a massive dew now, so it would have been difficult to bowl in the second half,” Deitz said, adding that losing early wickets threw his team out of the game.
