Patience pays off as Saima Thakor impresses on international debut against New Zealand

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.

Indian women’s cricket team players celebrate the wicket of New Zealand’s Maddy Brooke, caught and bowled by Saima Thakor during the 1st ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI/The Hindu

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. The environment is positive and I was the travelling reserve for the World Cup. We have an amazing support staff too,” Saima said.

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. 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 said. .”

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 bowling.

Brooke Halliday, who top-scored for New Zealand, praised Saima’s effort.

“I thought she played really well today. I think someone to come up in your first game for India and play like that is really positive for India,” said the Kiwi batter.

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 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,” she added.

“I thought the pitch was really good,” said Halliday.

“It came on quite nicely, and I think the way India took the pace off the ball, probably through that middle phase of our batting innings, was quite effective, and I think Deepti Sharma was bowling in the mid-60s, so she really did slow it down, which made it harder as a batter,” Halliday added.