India Women’s pacer Renuka Singh Thakur expressed her delight over her impressive four-wicket haul in the eight-wicket victory against Sri Lanka Women in the third T20I. However, she admitted that she is still pursuing her elusive five-wicket haul in T20 cricket.
In a historic match at the Greenfield International Stadium, which was the first international women’s game at this venue, Renuka excelled with figures of 4-21 as India restricted Sri Lanka to 112/7.
“Very happy. I never get five wickets; it’s always four. So maybe I’ll have to work harder to get a five-for as they are rare for me. I go to the NCA (CoE) to prepare for any tournament because it works for me. I can do some extra work on my bowling and fitness, and that helps me execute better,” Renuka said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Renuka now holds the record for the most four-wicket hauls by an Indian bowler in women’s T20Is with four, surpassing leg-spinner Poonam Yadav, who has three. Her 4-21 ranks as the second-best figures by an Indian bowler in T20Is, following Daina David’s 4-12 recorded at Basseterre during the 2010 T20 World Cup.
“Harmanpreet was fully motivating me to get 5, as she also knows that I get only four wickets every time. I remember Jhulan (Goswami) di’s words when she said to take five wickets, you need to work harder. So that’s what I was thinking – to work harder to get the 5 wickets,” Renuka added.
In T20Is against Sri Lanka, Renuka has played eight matches, claiming 11 wickets at an average of 14.81, with a strike rate of 15.2 and an economy rate of 5.82. She concluded by stating that she is using the current series to fine-tune her preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup in England.
“I wanted to during this series, so that when I play in the future against Australia or the World Cup, there shouldn’t be any doubt about my slower one or anything else, so that I can mentally prepare myself. If my first over doesn’t go well, I think about what I need to do and what to bowl on this wicket when the captain throws the ball next.”