Indian women’s team wicketkeeper batter Richa Ghosh impressed the fans with her quickfire 50 off 26 in the fourth ODI against New Zealand on Tuesday.
Showcasing her power-hitting abilities, the 18-year-old hit 4 boundaries and as many sixes to zoom past her half-century. Though Richa’s innings fell short of helping the Indian team register a victory, it entered the record books as the fastest fifty by an Indian batter in women’s ODI cricket.
Talking about the feat and her aggressive batting in a post-match video on bcci.tv, Richa revealed that she draws her inspiration from former Indian skipper MS Dhoni and idolises his power-hitting style. Speaking to Indian women’s team skipper Mithali Raj, the 18-year-old added that while she always had an aggressive batter due to his father’s influence on her coaching, it’s Dhoni who has inspired both her batting and wicket-keeping aspects.
“When I began watching matches of Team India, I started following MS Dhoni as I was impressed with his power-hitting abilities with the bat coupled with effective wicket-keeping behind the stumps. He is my idol.” Richa told Mithali.
On being asked about the feeling of getting to her first ODI by Mithali, the 18-year-old said that getting to the milestone filled her with happiness and recalled the time when she had narrowly missed a 50 in Australia. She added, “I was really happy, and my parents were also elated by it as they called up to congratulate me after the knock.”
Walking to bat number 6 after Indians were down at 19 for 4, Richa stitched a crucial 77-run partnership with Mithali for the fifth wicket. However, after Richa’s dismissal at 52 runs, India lost track of the run chase and eventually suffered a 63-run defeat in the rain-curtailed match.
Put to bat first by India, New Zealand scored 191-5 in their 20 overs, thanks to Amelia Kerr’s unbeaten 68 and Suzie Bates’ 41-run knock.
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