India wicket-keeper and batter Taniya Bhatia was a part of the winning Supernovas team that clinched their third Women’s T20 Challenge title on May 28. This year saw the fourth edition of the tournament being played and Supernovas continued their dominance winning three out of the four championships.
After the final match that was played between Supernovas and Velocity in which the former beat the latter by just four runs, Bhatia addressed a virtual press conference. The 24-year-old wicket-keeper batter featured in all three matches for Supernovas. She scored 37 runs in two innings at a strike rate of 112.12, including the best of 36. Behind the stumps, she claimed three catches and one stumping,
During the press conference, she stated that she has been working on her strike rate to cement her place in the Indian team ahead of the Commonwealth Games to be played in Birmingham from July 29 to August 7 and the T20 World Cup next year in South Africa.
Since making her international debut in 2018, Bhatia was a regular part of the Indian team. However, after a successful stint in the 2020 ICC Women’s World T20 in Australia, she was out of action for some time due to a concussion. Richa Ghosh replaced her behind the stumps and since the end of the 2020 World T20, she has not been able to play regularly for India.
“I thought during the World Cup that when I go back I will work on my batting. I knew there are T20s lined up this season, so I started working on my strike rate during the domestic tournament.”
~ Taniya Bhatia, India’s Wicket-Keeper#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/lfLhjehcUm
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) May 30, 2022
She featured in just the three ODIs in 2021 when India toured England and scored just seven and two runs in the two matches in which she got the chance to bat. In the one-off Test that was played between the two sides, Bhatia, who batted at number 10, stitched an unbeaten 104-run partnership with Sneh Rana to ensure a draw for India. This year she played an ODI against New Zealand before the ICC Women’s World Cup and registered eight runs.
Though she was a part of the Indian squad for the World Cup, she did not play a single match. Ghosh, who is known to have a better hitting ability than Bhatia was India’s first-choice wicket-keeper in the World Cup.
Bhatia said, “I thought during the World Cup that when I go back I will work on my batting. I knew there are T20s lined up this season, so I started working on my strike rate during the domestic tournament. “T20 cricket is all about maintaining strike rate and average, so here also I kept my focus on that, to act according to the situation, and now also when I go back my preparation and focus will remain the same for the upcoming games.”
She further emphasized that she is a big believer in living in the moment. She added, “Before coming here, I thought that I would just focus on my role, do what the situation demands and not think about what is happening outside and try to grab the opportunities that come my way.”’
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.