Rodrigues Praises Young Duo as India Seek Series Win Over England

3rd WT20I: Rodrigues hails Charani and Nandni ahead of series decider against England

Taunton, June 1

In India's 28-run defeat in Bristol, Charani stood out to pick a three-for, while Nandni, who's playing her debut international series, has been impactful with her pace and variations, though she and Arundhati Reddy were taken for cleaners in the last two overs by a rampaging Freya Kemp.

"I think first I'll talk about Charani. I think Charani loves England. The last time she was here, she was the player of the series. But the thing I love about her is, like, being so young, she's just taken up that responsibility as the left‑arm spinner in the team and she knows how important her four overs are.

"The thing I also love about her, she's very hardworking. She'll come and she says, 'Sir, two overs. It ends up to 24 overs every practice session because she's never satisfied. So I think what I love that about her, she wants to keep getting better," Rodrigues said in a press conference on Monday.

On Nandni, Jemimah was effusive in her praise of the Chandigarh-based pacer. "About Nandni, I think she speaks for herself. I don't have to talk too much about her. But I love the person she is and the fact that she is bindaas. But at the same time, she's very good at what she does.

"Whether it's slower balls, whether it's a back of the hand, length ball, a bouncer, I think as a captain, she is the kind of bowler you want in your team because whatever you ask, she always delivers. So that's how good, even under pressure, she is.

"So a lot of times, you want to, you can have good skill, but it's how you deliver under pressure and she is that one who can deliver under pressure. I'm very happy that she's here and all credit goes to her because of the way she's worked hard. The kind of WPL she's had, I think hats off to her."

Jemimah also spoke about her own versatility with the bat, as Yastika Bhatia slotted at three has meant that she has to bat at five. "I just read one stat somewhere that I have a 50 as an opener, number three, four, and five. So I think I'm comfortable at all positions. At the end, it is important for me to have clarity.

"When I have clarity about a certain role, I know I can go out there and deliver. So whatever the team requires, like you said, now is the time where we have few more games to experiment what's the best combination that's working for the team. So I think, because Yasty was not with us also lately because of her injury - this is the only game time that she's also getting.

"So for us to have her here is a great advantage. We saw what she did in the first game, and the way she's batted. To come out after injury and do such a thing, it takes a lot of character and I think she has that character. So I'm very happy with the way she's going and very happy with the fact that we are still willing to add - like can we add a little more in batting? Can we do something better? And that's the kind of mindset we have and that's the mindset we are going towards."

She also explained a technical tweak in her batting to counter slow batting conditions. "It was not change of technique for the World Cup, it had happened a while back. But especially on pitches which are a little faster, I was being fraction second slower because of the short pitch balls.

"So I kind of got into a pre‑positioned, like I take the stance and then get into a pre‑positioned place. Whereas, like, if I explain it to you, it's like, so usually when you bat, you take the bat up and then you come down.

"So now I'm already up and that fraction of a second, I get time to then judge and then it gave me a lot more power, even in my front foot drives, and even more time on the back foot. So I think that's the only technique change."

On conditions in Taunton, Jemimah said, "We just arrived, so I didn't see the pitch, but I have played here before in the Kia Super League. I had got good runs also here, so good memories from here. But what I know about this pitch and the conditions is that it is a very good pitch to bat on. Fast outfield and pitch ensures the ball comes on nicely on the bat.

"Looking at the conditions, there might be a little swing, but apart from that I think it is a good pitch for the batters. So Bristol is usually on the slower side, but to be honest out of all the pitches we played in Bristol, I think it was a good pitch compared to the other days, still compared to English pitches, slightly on the slower side.

"But I think because of the heatwave that has been going on for quite some time now, compared to how people used to talk about English pitches, it has now gotten a little bit closer to how it is in India. But I still feel it is a lot more faster than how it is in India."

— IANS