Chandigarh: It wasn’t an India performance all anticipated against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, but they still scraped past Pakistan for a six-wicket win to keep semi-final hopes alive in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. India owed it to their bowlers and all-rounder Arundhati Reddy led the way, returning brilliant figures of 4-0-19-3.

Had Reddy not applied the brake, Pakistan could have added 10-15 runs more than the 105/8 they finished with and that would have brought more pressure on India who had found batting second tough in the heavy loss to New Zealand. Medium-pacer Arundhati removed the set Nida Dar (28 off 34b), Omaima Sohail (3) and Aliya Riaz (4) to push Pakistan on the backfoot. Her send-off to Nida though drew a reprimand from the ICC match referee.

Having beaten Sri Lanka in their previous game, Pakistan’s batters looked in control with Nida doing most of the scoring, but Arundhati, declared Player-of-the-Match, and spinner Shreyanka Patil (2/12) helped peg back the innings.

This performance wasn’t just special for Arundhati, who made a comeback only a few months ago after three years, but also for her mother Bhagya Reddy, a Hyderabad school teacher who had raised her cricket-mad daughter and son by herself.

Former India women’s team fielding coach Biju George too was delighted with Arundhati’s best T20I figures. Had George not persuaded her into leaving Railways and joining the Kerala Cricket Association last season to develop her all-round abilities, the 27-year-old may not have earned her national comeback.

It was during her stint with Delhi Capitals (DC) in the first season of Women’s Premier League that George saw her impressive T20 skills and suggested that she make the switch. Fielding coach with DC in WPL, he felt the league helped her realise her potential rubbing shoulders with the world’s best players and a top-notch coaching staff.

“I remember meeting Aru in Hyderabad after WPL-I; she was very disturbed about her future in domestic cricket. She knew she would make an India return through domestic cricket success and Railways wasn’t giving her enough opportunities. Going back to Hyderabad would not have served the purpose as they hardly reach the knockout stage in T20s and one-dayers. So, I asked her to join the Kerala team,” said George, who was the India fielding coach in 2018 when Arundhati made her T20I debut.

Leaving the Indian Railways would have meant quitting her job. She did not want to burden her mother financially but the WPL contract meant she could take the chance. Arundhati worked on her bowling skills, improved her fitness and batting. She wanted to be India’s best T20 player and two seasons of WPL helped improve her confidence.

“Earlier, she was a medium-pacer who relied on quick deliveries and was a useful batter. Ahead of last year’s domestic season while playing for Kerala she developed variations in her bowling. She scored many runs for Kerala and her resolve to make an India comeback grew stronger. In WPL-II, she did pretty well playing for DC,” added George.

Arundhati worked on her batting with Arjun Dev, who also coaches Shreyanka, at the NICE Academy in Bengaluru.

“For the last two years, I have tried to work on how to become a complete T20 bowler. A lot of work has gone into it. I want to be a bowler who can bowl across all phases and be confident enough to deliver for the team when required,” Arundhati said after the Pakistan game.

She spoke about her desire to change things in her career at the post-match presentation:

“It was about what needs to be done, what I need to be improving in. The main focus was to be the best all-rounder in the world, so I prepared in a certain way that when I come in I know I can win games for India.”

With two crucial games in Group A coming up against Sri Lanka and defending champions Australia with India required to win both to stay in the semi-final reckoning, the team will want more success from Arundhati. India’s batting didn’t look very convincing in the first two games, especially while chasing a stiff target against New Zealand, and the team will look at the lower order’s contribution as vital.

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