Former Australia captain Meg Lanning has lauded Deepti Sharma’s all-round brilliance in India’s first two matches of the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, saying that the experienced spinner’s strong start to the tournament “will make other teams very nervous.”
Deepti has been India’s standout performer so far, emerging as the top wicket-taker in the competition with six scalps in two games. She returned career-best figures of 3 for 45 against Pakistan, following up on a crucial run-a-ball 53 in the opening match against Sri Lanka, a performance that underscored her growing influence in both departments.
Praising the 27-year-old, Lanning highlighted Deepti’s composure and versatility across situations.
“She’s obviously got a lot of experience behind her now and playing conditions that she knows really well and she seems to have found a really nice spot in the middle order there to be able to come in and play how she wants,” Lanning told the ICC.
“You know the good thing with Deepti is she can come in if you’ve lost a few wickets and sort of settle things down and right the ship but if she needs to come in and dominate and be a bit more aggressive, you can also do that. So that’s a really good thing to have in the middle order,” she added.
Lanning also praised Deepti’s craft with the ball, noting how her tactical awareness and variations have made her a key threat.
“Then with the ball she’s very clever. You know just subtle changes here and there are very effective and she knows what works so to start off the tournament really well will give her a lot of belief and it’ll make some other sides very nervous, I think, to have her playing so well, and especially because they’ve got so many other match winners too,” Lanning said.
While India’s senior batters Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana are yet to find form, both recording low scores in the opening fixtures, Lanning believes India’s early dominance without major contributions from the duo is a huge positive.
“They’ve started off really nicely and I think the thing that will give them a lot of confidence is they probably haven’t had contributions or major contributions from Mandhana and (Harmanpreet), two of their key batters. So to be able to be winning early on in the tournament without those two dominating I think will be very helpful for them and give them a lot of confidence that when those two do dominate and fire that it sort of takes them to another level,” she explained.
After their 59-run victory over co-hosts Sri Lanka and a commanding 88-run win against Pakistan, India are atop the table in the eight-nation tournament. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will next face South Africa on Thursday, followed by a high-profile clash against defending champions Australia on October 12, both at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.