Ahead of the iconic clash between India and Pakistan in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, skipper Fatima Sana was riding high on confidence and sticking by the attacking brand of cricket the team has adopted.
“I have been watching that whichever team we played against – played attacking cricket, as a bowler, I used to feel that whoever used to bowl against us, used to make to hit us from the first ball. I wanted our team to have batters who can punish the bowler from the first ball. We have worked a lot on this and you will see the result soon hopefully,” Sana said ahead of the much-awaited contest.
Sana played a crucial role in her team’s victory against Sri Lanka in their opening match of the T20I tournament. Firstly, her knock of 30 runs from 20 deliveries got Pakistan to a fighting total of 116. Then, her spell of 2/10 in 2.5 overs, helped in restricting Sri Lanka to 85/9 after 20 overs. For her great all-round display, she was also awarded with the Player of the Match award.
The skipper elaborated on her ambitions as an all-rounder and hailed the influence of the power-hitting coach, that has overseen Pakistan’s new approach to batting in T20Is.
“I always wanted to be the number one all-rounder, because obviously bowling is a team sport but the team wins when you are good at it all, even when you are good in fielding,” Sana said.
“So that’s why I was trying to prove myself always in helping the team win. So, I think that was the only challenge for me. That I should take my batting along. Our power-hitting coach has helped a lot of girls. I think all the credit goes to him because he has given us the belief that you can become an all-rounder. If you look at the last series of South Africa, a lot of our girls have improved in power-hitting,” Sana added.
“I think the girls believe that even if the fielders are standing behind, if they hit, they can go for six. It’s a good thing that all the girls are confident in this. Personally, I used to bat a lot before, but I didn’t know if I could hit or not. But with that belief now it’s become a lot easier,” Sana further added.
