Shafali smoked 5 sixes and 10 fours in her 28-ball 76 not out as she together with Lanning (21 not out; 15b) made a mockery of Gujarat Giants‘ 106-run goal by cantering house in 43 balls.
“It was some of the best hitting I’ve seen. I said just keep it simple. Stay still and hit the ball straight. I’m still to get over it,” the five-time World Cup profitable Australian skipper stated after their 10-wicket hammering of GG.
“That was a pretty cool show to watch from the other end. I was just cheerleading from the other end. It seemed like a new ball wicket.
“We simply had to ensure what we needed to do. Shafali did not make it look very tough. Those kind of chases will be difficult if you happen to go right into a shell,” she added, showering more praise on Shafali.
It was their South African pace-bowling allrounder Marizanne Kapp who set the tone with her sensational display of 5/15.
“Kapp’s pure size is one which works on a wicket like this. She was glorious immediately, I like watching her bowl. She was pissed off along with her performances to this point — she should not have been,” Lanning said.
Wanted to play straight: Shafali
For Shafali, this was her second fifty in four matches in the inaugural WPL. In their WPL opener, Shafali looked set for a century but got out for 84 (45 balls) while playing an away delivery.
“I bought out whereas enjoying flick within the final match, so I attempted to play straight tonight,” Shafali said.
“I wasn’t in a rush, however I used to be making an attempt to present my finest in the course of the run chase. Now we will relaxation and revel in ourselves.
“I would like to thank Lanning for her advice. I want to work hard in future and keep scoring and playing in the same way.
“We (openers) tried to present our greatest for the staff, and we managed to take action. We backed ourselves in the course of the chase, stored speaking to one another, and you recognize such small issues matter as a participant,” Shafali added.
Wanted to preform badly: Kapp
Having erred in the first three matches where she could manage just one wicket from 16 overs, South African Kapp finally hit the straps with an incisive spell.
“Just wished to carry out so badly. It’s not been going so nicely,” said Kapp after being adjudged Player-of-the-Match.
“I felt I missed my line and size lots within the earlier three video games. If you wish to carry out you should put within the exhausting work. Good to contribute tonight.
“That’s what makes it tough being an allrounder. If you bowl well and don’t bat well, you don’t feel good. Thankfully I wasn’t needed to bat tonight. We’ve got such a nice group of players. Such an amazing experience being here.”
Rival skipper Sneh Rana defended her resolution to bat and termed Shafali’s innings as “incredible”.
“It’s completely okay. Girls did the best they can do. So it’s fine.
“Pitch was a bit skiddy. It was an excellent resolution (on the toss) as a result of the ball was approaching nicely.
“Shafali was fantastic tonight. All those shots were incredible.”
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com