Yogi Adityanath praises UP girls Deepti Sharma and Poonam Yadav for their match-winning performances against Australia

The Women in Blue continued their dominance over the defending champions Australia in ICC events as they completed a hat-trick of wins against the four-time T20 World Cup winners in the opening game of the 2020 edition at the Sydney Showground Stadium on Friday. That the Women in Blue were able to come out trumps was largely due to the contribution of two UP girls- Deepti Sharma and Poonam Yadav.

Batting first, India got off to a flier with Shafali Verma going hammer and tongs in the powerplay but a flurry of wickets including that of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, it looked like the Women in Blue will once again end up with an underwhelming total. But, Deepti Sharma- the off-spin all-rounder- dug in with Jemimah Rodrigues and scored an unbeaten 49 to ensure that the visitors had something in the bank- 132/4 – to challenge Australia.

Sharma then proceeded to bowl tight overs in the powerplay but with Alyssa Healy going hammer and tongs at the other end, India needed its most experienced spinner to set-up. Poonam Yadav, courtesy her vicious wrong’ uns proceeded to run the Aussie middle-order to put India into the ascendency. 

Following India’s victory, wishes have galore from every nook and corner of the country and on Saturday, Yogi Adityanath, the Hon. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, took to Twitter to heap praises on the two UP daughters- Deepti Sharma [49* & 0/17 in 4 overs] and Poonam Yadav [4/19]- and the entire team.

कल हुए T20 महिला क्रिकेट विश्व कप में ऑस्ट्रेलिया के विरुद्ध प्रथम मैच में प्रदेश की बेटियों @poonam_yadav24 व @Deepti_Sharma06 का प्रदर्शन गौरवान्वित करने वाला रहा।

दोनों बेटियों सहित पूरी टीम को हार्दिक बधाई एवं आगे होने वाले सभी मैचों के लिए शुभकामनाएं।

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) February 22, 2020

Poonam Yadav made a brilliant comeback post her shoulder injury

It hasn’t been an easy ride for Yadav. Following her shoulder injury, she missed out from the T20I tri-series in the lead-up to the tournament. But the 28-year-old did not lose hope. She also hailed his teammates and physio for supporting her during the recovery phase.

“My physio and my teammates supported me a lot when I was injured. I bowled well against Australia here in the past so I wanted to continue that. This is the third time that I didn’t get a hat-trick. I am thankful to my teammates as it is not easy to come back after an injury,” said Poonam Yadav at the post-match presentation.