Saima shines on her debut, for which she has been waiting for years

Saima shines on her debut

AHMEDABAD

Saima Thakor made her international debut on Thursday, at the age of 28, but she had been preparing for it for years. All that paid off, as she made a promising beginning to her career, picking up two wickets and helping India beat New Zealand in the first ODI by 59 runs.

“I am very happy that I got an opportunity to play along with this bunch of players, who are all excellent,” Saima said. “The environment is positive and I was the travelling reserve for the T20 World Cup. We have an amazing support staff, too.”

The seamer said the wicket was a flat one. “The track was flat for most of the match, so the cutters and the slower deliveries were more useful, and that was what we, fast bowlers, tried to do,” she said. “And I was happy to contribute to the team’s victory. All I tried to do was to focus on just one ball at a time.”

Saima, who had the seasoned Suzi Bates caught behind with just her third ball in international cricket, went on to finish with two for 26 after sharing the new ball with Renuka Singh. She also took three catches, including one off her own bowling.

Brooke Halliday, who top-scored for New Zealand, praised Saima’s effort. “I thought she played really well...,” said the Kiwi batter. “I think someone to come up in your first game for India and play like that is really positive for India.”

Halliday, who had made a 28-ball 38 to help New Zealand win the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Dubai last Sunday, said the failure to get partnerships hurt the team in the chase against India. “I think we would have been pretty happy with the total that India got us to chase down, and I think the biggest thing on that pitch was partnerships,” she said. “That’s what we talked about at the halfway mark, and we got a few 30s, but there was no real partnership, which would have given us that kind of stability.”