Returning to the Indian ODI side after a disappointing series against South Africa earlier this year, spinner Poonam Yadav was encouraged by her performance despite the team losing the second ODI against England in Taunton on Wednesday.
“I got a wicket after a long time. For any bowler, it matters to get among the wickets and contribute to the team and complete the spell,” Yadav told reporters after the game.
The 29-year-old’s last ODI wicket was Windies skipper Stafanie Taylor when India toured West Indies in November 2019.
She went wicketless in the four ODIs she featured in against the Proteas in March, the first time that’s happened in her career. And she ended the drought by dismissing captain Heather Knight. However, Yadav is focused on what she could work on going forward.
“I have worked on my field placements and just my general approach. What matters is pace and how the wicket is acting. I worked on varying my pace and I had time between these two series to work that out. I was a little expensive today and I feel I can be better,” she added.
England restricted India to 221 all out before cruising to a five-wicket win over the visitor, with Sophia Dunkley and Katherine Brunt getting them across the finish line. While the result paints a bleak picture of the series, a 2-0 deficit, Yadav feels India has reason to feel good about this game.
“We lost wickets but still managed a decent total. Our bowlers did well too but could have restricted them a little more. Our fielding was better this time. We are seeing collapses often, but I think they’ll do better going forward,” Yadav explained.
Skipper Mithali Raj made a scathing assessment of India’s bowling lineup after the side's loss in the first ODI at Bristol, saying the seam department, besides Jhulan Goswami, needed to step up and support the veteran pacer. Yadav responded saying everyone has bad days.
“It was a bad day for the bowlers in the first ODI, but today we fought till the end and even though we lost, our body language was so better. Hopefully, we’ll take that momentum forward and definitely register a win in the coming games,” she said.
With the ODI World Cup in New Zealand in early 2022, every match will be important for the Indian team.
“We’re experimenting with bowling plans and field positions for all bowlers in the matches we get now. We tried today too and some of those plans worked for us. This will be very important as we get closer to the World Cup,” Poonam said.
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