New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Former Australia skipper Meg Lanning analysed India’s experienced all-rounder Deepti Sharma’s impressive performance in the first two matches of the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and said that the way she started the tournament “will make other teams very nervous.”

Deepti is currently the top wicket-taker in the tournament with six scalps in two games, having recorded her best figures of 3-45 against Pakistan. In India’s tournament opener against Sri Lanka, she contributed a fair bit with the bat as well, scoring a crucial run-a-ball 53.

“She’s obviously got a lot of experience behind her now and playing conditions that she knows really well and she seems to have found a really nice spot in the middle order there to be able to come in and play how she wants.

“You know the good thing with Deepti is she can come in if you’ve lost a few wickets and sort of settle things down and right the ship but if she needs to come in and dominate and be a bit more aggressive, you can also do that. So that’s a really good thing to have in the middle order,” said Lanning to the ICC.

“Then with the ball she’s very clever. You know just subtle changes here and there are very effective and she knows what works so to start off the tournament really well will give her a lot of belief and it’ll make some other sides very nervous, I think, to have her playing so well, and especially because they’ve got so many other match winners too,” she added.

For India, two key batters, skipper Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana, have yet to demonstrate their skill in the tournament, as the pair recorded low scores in the first two matches. However, Lanning believes that securing wins early in the tournament, even without significant contributions from Mandhana and Harmanpreet, will boost the confidence of the Women in Blue.

“They’ve started off really nicely and I think the thing that will give them a lot of confidence is they probably haven’t had contributions or major contributions from Mandhana and (Harmanpreet) to of their key batters. So to be able to be winning early on in the tournament without those two dominating I think will be very helpful for them and give them a lot of confidence that when those two do dominate and fire that it sort of takes them to another level,” she further said.

After beating co-hosts Sri Lanka by 59 runs in the opening match, India’s dominant 88-run victory over Pakistan in their second game has also propelled the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side to the top of the table in the eight-nation tournament.

India will next face South Africa at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on October 9, followed by a high-stakes clash against the defending champions, Australia, at the same venue on October 12.

— IANS

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