The Women in Blue celebrated the ODI World Cup victory a few months ago, and they were absolutely thrilled! But on the other hand, a change of format in the coming months brings a different challenge. However, this time, India might get lucky and find their secret weapon in Bharti Fulmali.
Fulmali, the 31-year-old player from Vidarbha, has been with the Gujarat Giants for three seasons now in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), and she has nothing but the best to show. She was the star of the aforementioned game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) where she made 39 runs off just 20 balls.
The Giants, who had a very difficult target of 183 to achieve, needed a strong innings and thus Bharti Fulmali was sent in to bat at No 6 when they were already 63/4 after losing four wickets. Her innings was all about power hitting, she just blasted three fours and the same number of sixes in amassing her speedy 39 runs. But the Gujarat Giants could not cross the line.
So far, in the 4 innings played, Fulmali has made a total of 92 runs. But, for the batter from Vidarbha, along with the runs, its also the strike-rate that stands out. Fumali has made her runs at a strike-rate of 191.66, which is excellent for a lower-order batter.
How Bharti Fulmali Can Strengthen the Indian Batting
There is no doubt that with her power-hitting abilities at her disposal Bharti Fulmali will come as a great asset for Indian batting order. More than anything, her ability to score quickly during the last overs will be a great help for the team.
The 31-year-old player possesses pretty good core strength and a very controlled bat swing, which together play a big role in her being able to connect with ball right at the spot she intends to. On top of that, she knows the trick of taking her front foot out of the way, which helps her to create enough space for the bat to follow
Richa Ghosh is the Indian team’s mainstay at present for finishing the matches, while they also rely on Harmanpreet Kaur to bat through and finish the innings on a high note. Still, the addition of Bharti Fulmali to the ensemble can reinforce the troupe a little more.
Not only this, but also it will allow the top-order batters to play their natural strokes without the fear of losing their wickets because of being cautious. The T20 format in any case does not grant enough time for the batters to get settled, and this can be an excellent way for the Indians to take advantage of their power-hitting situations.
The only challenge for India will be to keep the same equilibrium regarding their bowling. A player like captain Harmanpreet will have to take the responsibility of sharing the bowling duties if necessary, which she has done effectively in the past. Furthermore, Shafali Verma has been bowling in the WPL recently, and has been quite successful.
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