Deepti Sharma insisted she felt no pressure despite being left with work to do at the crease as she hauled India to victory over Sri Lanka in the opening match of the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Sharma hit 53 as India won the clash of the hosts by 59 runs (DLS method), having started her partnership with Amanjot Kaur with India 124 for six.
Kaur hit 57 herself and the pair delivered a century before the seventh wicket fell to set India on the road to victory.
“[Our partnership] was a turning point,” said Player of the Match Sharma. “Back-to-back wickets were falling so we wanted to have a long partnership.
“The things that we had planned, we executed it. There was no pressure at all because I am used to these types of innings and situations.
“I have played it in the past, and that partnership with Amanjot was important. I do not feel pressure, I enjoy my batting.”
The 28-year-old all-rounder also impressed with the ball as she took three from 54, most significantly dismissing Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu as she approached her half-century.
“On this type of pitch, I believe in my stock balls, and try to bowl stump to stump, while backing my strengths,” Sharma added.
“The first match always sets the tone and there are a lot of positives from the match, and hopefully in the rest of the tournament, we can keep performing this way and keep winning this way.”
It was an outlook shared by her captain Harmanpreet Kaur and she did not hold back in the value of Sharma to such an important opening game victory.
“It was not an easy game. We know in ICC tournaments, every game is important and is going to be high-pressure,” she said.
“The way [Amanjot Kaur and Deepti] handled the situation, it was outstanding to watch. I’m really happy all the girls came together to try to win this game for the country.
“Having [strong] batting until number seven is the biggest strength for us. Amanjot is someone who can contribute with both bat and ball for us and Deepti has been doing it for some time.”
Athapaththu was left to rue her side’s three dropped catches of tournament debutant Amonjot Kaur, with Sri Lanka having fielded a young side themselves.
The 35-year-old remains confident in the ability of all her squad despite falling short in the chase as they fell short of 269 total set by India.
“We executed our plans but we dropped a couple of catches, especially [Amanjot] Kaur’s catch. We made three mistakes and it cost us,” assessed Athapaththu.
“As a batting unit, we lost a couple of wickets early and in the middle overs, and that is where we lost this game.
“After losing my wicket, our batters struggled a little bit. Chasing is not easy, but we need to execute our right plans at the right time. If we keep losing wickets, it is not easy to chase.
“Inoka [Ranaweera] bowled really well and Udeshika [Prabodhani] because they have experience. The rest struggled a little bit.
“They have to think about it a little bit, we have to talk [with the coaches] and maybe reset our plans. We are calm, I still have faith in my youngsters because they have won more games for us.
“I know the mistakes, if we can reset these plans, I know we can bounce back.”
Wildcat Talent
Sport Trivia: Where did Naas Botha play his first test match for South Africa? Answer: Wanderers – Naas Botha was selected to play for South Africa at Rugby Union after playing for the SA Under 20 squad. He made his debut against South America on 26 April 1980 at the Wanderers Stadium, recognised as a cricket ground. This was due to the fact that Ellis Park had been demolished in 1979 to be rebuilt.
Sprinkle Lovenuts
Viv Richards played both cricket and football world cups.