Vastrakar, Rodrigues and the promise of India's batting depth in ODIS

THE first time Pooja Vastrakar batted on Indian soil in ODIs, she was slated to bat at nine against Australia in 2018. With India sitting at 113 for seven, there were not a lot of expectations from the then 19-year-old, but she put up a brave fightback and scored her maiden half-century.

- KALYANI MANGALE

A delightful knock took India past 200 in Vadodara, even though it was never going to be enough against the Australians. At that time, Vastrakar’s knock came on the back of a collapse where India continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.

Almost five years and a World Cup cycle later, Vastrakar did the same, batting in the same position, against the same opposition. However, this time the surroundings were different. At the Wankhede Stadium, batting without their vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, India went on to score their highest score (282/2) against Australia in the format.