Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 12 : Following her side's nine-wicket win over UP Warriorz, RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana hailed Grace Harris and Lauren Bell for their standout performances, stating how she just had to take a single and watch Grace blasting the bowlers.
Brilliant 40-ball 85 by Grace Harris and brilliant spells from Nadine de Klerk (2/28) and Lauren Bell (1/16) played a crucial role in first restricting UPW to 143/5 and then RCB chasing it in just 12.1 overs.
"I mean, it was the best seat in the house for me to watch Grace whack those balls. We (the team management) had a brief discussion about how we want the batting order to look, since she can also play in the middle order, which is what she does for the Aussie team. But she does open for the Brisbane Heat at the Big Bash. But I think we all were very, very clear of how dangerous she can be up front. And if she gets going, it is almost like you take away the match from the opposition. So, yeah, we thought we will back her in the powerplay. She has just been batting the first innings as well, she was just smacking the ball," Grace said during the post-match presentation.
"I mean, everyone, all I need to do is take a single and she keeps going. And it was just amazing to watch. I wouldn't like to rate because it is the wrong thing to do that. But yeah, again, Shafali (Verma), Grace, I mean, all these players, it is just easy to bat in T20 cricket," she added.
On Lauren's economical bowling, Smriti Mandhana said in the first three overs "she is just not letting anyone touch the ball, which I feel she can keep continuing doing that and set the tone for us".
"Just giving six overs and 30-odd runs, I mean, that is how you start the bowling innings when you win the toss," she added.
She was also happy with the way the team bowled and chipped in with proper execution and wickets.
Grace, who was given the 'Player of the Match' award, expressed happiness that all her work with the bat is paying off, and she is loving her time with RCB.
"I have always enjoyed the WPL competition. It (RCB) is a great set-up and, yeah, just really loving life at the moment. (on opening the batting) Yeah, that is true. I did kind of think I would be facing a bit of an older ball. So, I was preparing for, you know, change-up deliveries and maybe cutting it a death. But, I guess, Malo guy (Malolan Rangarajan, the head coach) is what I call him, but he has been fantastic. He just kind of came over to me at a training session and was just like, you know, you might want to face a new ball. I think we are opening, and I just thought, oh, how good," she said.
She termed Smriti as a "classy and calm batter".
"It is a great reminder when you watch her bat that you do not actually even have to over-hit the ball when you watch her. She makes batting look so easy, so smooth and technically correct that it is just good," she added.
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