'I’ll remember The Hundred final six for rest of my career': Deepti Sharma

Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS) At the Lord’s on August 18, London Spirit needed four runs off the last three balls to beat Welsh Fire in the final and win the fourth edition of The Hundred. The Spirit’s wish to win the title came true when India all-rounder Deepti Sharma smashed a six over a leaping long-on off Hayley Matthews to win the trophy for her team.

That match-winning six, also the only maximum of the final, summed up Deepti’s fantastic tournament with the bat. She amassed 212 runs in six innings and was dismissed just once, with her strike rate being an impressive 132.5.

“With four runs needed off three balls, I thought that the match has to be finished at this moment and on this delivery, instead of dragging it to the last two-three balls, as the mindset was to finish off the game as quickly as possible.”

“I thought that I must take that responsibility on myself to finish off the game, because I was the only set batter at that time and that’s how finishing the game on this very delivery emerged in my mind,” said Deepti in an exclusive conversation with IANS on the sidelines of CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai.

While the Spirit Dugout with the likes of Heather Knight and Meg Lanning leapt in joy on seeing Deepti hit the winning six, what was going on in the all-rounder’s mind after triggering joyful scenes for her team?

“I felt really good after hitting that six, as I had missed these opportunities previously and didn’t want a repeat of it. So, I was really positive about finishing off the match and getting the trophy for the team. When you are positive about things, your body automatically reacts to it,” said Deepti.

This version of Deepti finishing games in T20s is something India craved for a long time, and 2024 has been the year where the all-rounder has lived up to the billing. She stated there was a lot of hard work done by her before her WPL 2024 season began for the UP Warriorz, where she scored 295 runs at a strike rate of 136.6.

This also included a change in mindset and practising her shots against a variety of balls to upgrade her hitting skills, something which India will hope comes off during the Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE next month.

“The things which I followed during the WPL, I am going to follow that again in the upcoming matches during the World Cup. It’s just that I have changed my mindset a bit, like whatever the situation is, just be positive about it. The biggest thing though is, just enjoy, as in pressure situations, one can’t enjoy. But if you enjoy being in those situations, then all of the phases in that scenarios goes out smoothly.”

“In my skills sessions, I began to practice my shots against different kinds of balls, as you always play against leather balls in the cricket season. But when you play against a light ball, you get to understand how much you are able to hit your shots well, while playing against a leather ball tells you how far the ball is going after hitting a shot.”

“So, it’s one of the things I have added on to my regime. Plus, I have practised a lot against heavy balls in the camps and while at home. I feel that going through all of these drills, my batting has really improved and have learnt a lot from it,” elaborated Deepti.

Cut to now, and joy in Deepti’s voice echoes when she talks about the celebrations post being hero for Spirit’s title win and that winning six is something she admits will stay with her for the rest of her playing career.

“We had really good celebrations after winning the trophy. When you get the opportunity to be the hero, you then become one by doing so, and then you get to learn a lot. The team atmosphere and environment was really good and everyone enjoyed a lot, including the support staff. The party we had in the dressing room and team hotel, it was very amazing and memorable for me. I will remember that six for the rest of my career.”

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