Shafali smoked five sixes and 10 fours in her 28 run 76 not knocked out as she and Lanning (21 not knocked out; 15b) mocked Gujarat Giants‘ Objective of 106 points by returning at a gallop in 43 balls.
“It was one of the best shots I’ve seen. I said keep it simple. Stay still and hit the ball straight. I’ve yet to get over it,” said the five-time winner of the Australia skipper. World Cup after their 10-wicket hammering from GG.
“It was a pretty cool show to watch from the other side. I was just cheerleading from the other side. It sounded like a new ball wicket.
“We just had to make sure what we needed to do. Shafali didn’t make it look very difficult. These kinds of lawsuits can be tricky if you get into a shell,” she added, praising Shafali more.
It was their South African allrounder Marizanne Kapp who set the tone with her sensational performance of 5/15.
“Kapp’s natural length is one that works on a wicket like this. She was excellent today, I love watching her bowl. She was frustrated with her performances so far – she wouldn’t have had to be,” Lanning said.
Wanted to play straight: Shafali
For Shafali, it was his second fifty in four matches in the premier WPL. In their WPL opener, Shafali looked ready for a century but went out for 84 (45 balls) while playing an away delivery.
“I came out playing the movie last game, so I tried to play straight tonight,” Shafali said.
“I was in no rush, but I tried to give my best during the chase. Now we can rest and have fun.
“I would like to thank Lanning for his advice. I want to work hard in the future and keep scoring and playing the same way.
“We (openers) tried to do our best for the team, and we managed to do that. We supported each other during the chase, kept talking to each other, and you know that little things like that count as than a player,” added Shafali.
Wanted to preform badly: Kapp
After making a mistake in the first three matches where she could only manage one wicket from 16 overs, South African Kapp finally hit the braces with an incisive spell.
“I just wanted to play so badly. It’s not going so well,” Kapp said after being named Player of the Match.
“I felt that I missed my line and my length a lot in the previous three games. If you want to perform well, you have to work hard. It’s good to contribute tonight.
“That’s what makes it hard to be a versatile player. If you play well and you don’t beat well, you don’t feel good. Fortunately, I didn’t need to beat tonight. We have a such a great group of players. an amazing experience to be here.”
Rival skipper Sneh Rana defended her decision to strike and called Shafali’s innings “incredible”.
“It’s totally okay. The girls did their best. So that’s okay.
“The ground was a bit slippery. It was a good decision (in throwing) because the ball was coming in well.
“Shafali was fantastic tonight. All those shots were amazing.”
