Debutant spinner Sobhana not concerned about missing five-wicket haul, happy to see India win
Jun 16, 2024
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 16 : India's debutant spinner Asha Sobhana admitted that she wasn't disappointed in missing out on a five-wicket haul but was pleased to see her nation win in the first ODI against South Africa.
In her debut game, Sobhana weaved magic and crafted the way for India to clinch a convincing 143-run win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
Sobhana picked four wickets, with her debut wicket coming at a crucial juncture. She dismissed Marizanne Kapp to end a promising-looking partnership. She removed the tail end quickly to force South Africa to bundle out on 122.
"Not really, I'm happy that my nation won," Sobhana said when asked about missing out on a five-wicket haul.
The Bengaluru pitch offered a lot of turn and Sobhana made most of it. While talking about her approach, she revealed that she planned to keep it simple which helped her scythe four wickets in her debut game.
"I just kept it simple, I wanted to bowl in the right areas, I was in a good rhythm, I wanted to continue. I have been practising this [legspin] for years, I did not want to do anything extraordinary, wanted to focus on the basics. There was a lot of turn on the wicket, did not want to give space to the batters, wanted to vary the pace so that the batters don't pick my variations. This stadium is very special for me, by the grace of god everything went well," Sobhana said after the game while talking about her approach.
"Pitch is amazing and a little bit of my effort as well. I woke up in the morning today and prayed to god that everything should go well, glad that it went well. [on what the management told her earlier today] They just told me to enjoy, they had a lot of confidence in my skills, they wanted me to go out and explore," she added.
Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bat. Despite struggling initially, India managed to post 265/8 with Smriti Mandhana scoring her sixth ODI ton.
In reply, Sobhana starred with the ball, with the rest of the bowlers chipping in with valuable contributions and restricted South Africa to 122.
