LONDON: India women’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma has said she always wanted to play the Test format when she began playing cricket for the country.
Deepti made her debut in the longest format against England last week when India locked horns with the hosts in a one-off game.
Deepti said the feeling was “surreal” when she got to live her dream of playing Test cricket for India.
“When I started playing for the country, I always wondered what it meant like playing the longer format of the game, always wanted to don the whites,” Deepti said in a tweet.
When I started playing for the country, I always wondered what it meant like playing the longer format of the game,… https://t.co/N32thnIemF
— Deepti Sharma (@Deepti_Sharma06) 1624350129000
“I finally got to live my dream. The feeling was surreal, couldn’t have asked for more. Grateful to team and everyone,” she added.
Deepti played a knock of 54 runs in the second innings of the one-off Test while Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia played unbeaten knocks of 80 and 44 respectively as India managed to walk away with a draw against England.
The left-handed batter Deepti was promoted to number three in the second innings and she hit a gutsy fifty to give India a good start in the second innings.
Talking about her experience of playing her first Test match, Deepti said: “Of course, a Test match requires a lot of patience both in bowling and batting. I got a lot of messages from my home and my dad, this match was very special for me. Every member in the team supported me, Ramesh Powar sir helped me in my bowling.”
In the second innings, Deepti stitched together a partnership of 70 runs with Shafali Verma for the second wicket. This stand helped India get off to a steady start and this put England bowlers slightly on the backfoot. England and India will return to the field on June 27 for the first game in a three-match ODI series.
