It matters a great deal to take wickets and contribute to the team: Poonam Yadav

After missing out on wickets in the home series against South Africa, Poonam Yadav made a successful return - she was left out of the first match - to ODIs, picking up a couple of wickets in the second ODI against England on Wednesday (June 30). She grabbed the prized wickets of England captain Heather Knight and wicket-keeper Amy Jones. But it wasn’t enough as India lost by five wickets at the County Ground, Taunton.



“It matters a great deal for any bowler to take wickets and contribute to the team," said Yadav, who picked up two for 62 off her ten overs. "I also bowled the spell of 10 overs which makes me feel better. I felt I could have managed to give fewer runs but, if I carry forward this performance I will try and do that as well.”



Yadav was not India’s first-choice spinner for both the one-off Test match and the ODI played in Bristol but she made the most of the opportunity in the second ODI. After being hit for a six in her first over of the match, she came back strong in the second over to remove Knight.



“I have tried and worked on field placements," she said. "What matters is one’s pace of bowling and how the pitch is assisting with it. I got some to adjust today so I settled down and thought about how I want to bowl.”



After a robust partnership of 56 runs between openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, only captain Mithali Raj managed to score some runs as the Lancashire pair of Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone took eight wickets between them. India were all out for 221 at the end of 50 overs. Yadav, who partnered with veteran bowler Jhulan Goswami for a last-wicket partnership of 29 runs that saw India cross the 220 mark, was proud of her team’s fightback.



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“We lost wickets but despite that, we managed to put a decent total. Bowlers performed really well and fought till the end. Our fielding was also very good today. So, we want to carry forward this form and win the final ODI.”



In the first ODI, England chased the target of 202 in the 35th over and India could only take two wickets. Yadav believed her team’s body language has changed and the fightback in the second match was evidence of that.



“It (first ODI) was not a great day for us. As it happens in the game of cricket, one day you are on top and the other day you are not. Today, we fought till the end and our body language was much better. If we continue this body language in the next matches, we can win all matches from here.”



“With World Cup in the sight, we are working on our fielding plans. We are improving in that department. We are also trying out some batting plans so it can help us in the World Cup,” Yadav concluded.