During the ongoing South Africa tour of India from June 16 to July 9, the hosts dominated with a clean sweep in the 3-match One-Day International (ODI) series and secured a comfortable 10-wicket victory in the one-off Test. In the 3-match T20 International (T20I) series scheduled from July 5 to 9 at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the Proteas won the 1st match by 12 runs. Uma Chetry made her T20 International debut against South Africa in the 2nd match, which was abandoned due to rain on Sunday.
Indian women’s cricket team fielding coach Munish Bali praised Uma Chetry for her fielding skills. However, the debutant missed a chance off Sajeevan Sajana’s bowling to stump Tazmin Brits, as she collected the ball ahead of the stumps in the second over. Chetry later successfully executed a stumping off Deepti Sharma’s bowling to dismiss a well-settled Brits.
However, Bali backed the youngster and recalled her brave fielding at short leg during the Test match against South Africa last week. He expressed his happiness when she was handed her debut cap, noting that during the Test, she fielded for around 70-80 overs, demonstrating her bravery.
“I was happy when she was handed her debut cap. During the Test, she fielded for around 70-80 overs. She is a brave girl,” he said during the post-match press conference.
Bali highlighted that standing at short leg is not easy, and even though she got hit by the ball, she stood there in pain, showcasing her great attitude and hard work as a cricketer. He was particularly pleased to see her stump Brits, emphasizing his pride in her performance.
“Standing at the short-leg is not easy. She got hit by the ball, but she stood there in pain. She has a great attitude and is a truly hard-working cricketer. I was so happy for her to have stumped Brits.”
Bali then talked about the fielding performance of the team, as there were some slip-ups on the field, despite that Bali was overall content with the team’s effort. He acknowledged the difficulty of gripping the ball when it was drizzling but praised the team for their good fielding performance. Bali mentioned that they are continuously working on improving and getting better gradually.
“It’s difficult to grip the ball when it’s drizzling. But still, we fielded very well. We are working on it and it’s in progress as we keep getting better slowly,” he said.
He emphasized that no one drops catches intentionally, noting that the players have been practicing hard during their sessions and giving their best. Bali recognized that sometimes things click and other times they don’t, and errors happen during matches. He consistently encourages the players to keep giving their best, confident that the results will follow.
“No one drops catches intentionally. The players have been practicing hard during our sessions, giving their best. At times, things click, and sometimes, it doesn’t. Errors happen during matches. So, we keep telling them to keep giving their best and results will follow,” he said.