India youngster turning heads with mature performances

Rising India star Niki Prasad has already displayed maturity beyond her years with a pair of impressive performances that confirm she is destined for bigger things at international level.

Prasad has only played two matches at senior level for India, with the 20-year-old showing glimpses of her uncapped prowess with an unbeaten 39* on debut against Zimbabwe in Raipur that included hitting the winning runs before collecting two wickets with her more than handy off-spin in a series-clinching victory at the same venue on Sunday.

That stunning spell of 2/7 from Prasad from two economical overs included consecutive wickets with her first two deliveries at international level, with the right-armer joining an elite group of just three players to have also registered the rare feat.

It bodes well in the future for Prasad, who has already achieved more than most in the game given she captained India to their second straight title at the ICC Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup at the start of last year when the side completed an undefeated run to the claim the trophy in Malaysia.

Experienced all-rounder Deepti Sharma claimed that it felt like Prasad had been around the India setup for years following her eye-catching showing with the bat in the opening match of the series against Zimbabwe and her efforts with the ball in the most recent fixture with the African nation further supported Deepti's statement.

“If I keep thinking that my performance is not good, then I think I will play the next matches under the same pressure," Prasad said after the nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Sunday as she looked ahead to the future.

"So I think about what the lessons were from a match that didn’t go well and how to apply them in the next match."

India will get another chance to show their capabilities when they host Zimbabwe in the third and final game of the series in Raipur in Tuesday and Prasad has already stressed the importance of finishing the three-match series in style and tightening up a few areas that were deemed below-par on Sunday.

“I think in every practice session and every match, we try to make as many improvements as possible,” Prasad added. 

“There were some misfields here and there (on Sunday), but overall, our team’s progress has been really good.”

“This is also my first time with the Indian team. Over the years, I can see how good the team environment has been. And I think Smriti di (India captain Smirti Mandhana) is carrying the same thing forward."

Series schedule:

First T20I: October 16, Raipur (India won by four wickets)
Second T20I: October 18, Raipur (India won by nine wickets)
Third T20I: October 20, Raipur