As Pratika Rawal eliminated her helmet to rejoice her maiden Girls’s World Cup century towards New Zealand on the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, the group erupted in delight. The 25-year-old raised her bat to acknowledge the roaring assist as chants of “Pratika! Pratika!” echoed all through the stadium.
Among the many 25,166 spectators cheering for India’s rising star was a well-known face – one who had dreamed of this second all his life and was overwhelmed to see it unfold earlier than his eyes. Pratika’s father, Pradeep Rawal, was in attendance to witness his daughter announce herself on the grand stage of the World Cup.
Watching her notice a dream he had nurtured for years, Pradeep was each elated and emotional – his determination to coach Pratika, a scholar of psychologyfrom the tender age of three now vindicated in essentially the most spectacular style.
Coming into the match amid murmurs about her strike charge, Pratika started her innings in her sometimes composed method earlier than pacing it fantastically to supply the best knock of her profession thus far. A chic innings of 122 off 134 ballslaced with 13 fours and two sixes, helped India submit a commanding whole of 340 for 3 in 49 overs.
She was concerned in a monumental 212-run opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana, who herself struck a scintillating 109 off 95 balls, showcasing her trademark strokeplay with class and authority.
As Pratika soaked within the rapturous applause from the group for her stellar efficiency, Pradeep watched on from a distance, savoring each second of a second he had lengthy envisioned — his daughter shining on the world stage.
‘Follow! Follow! ‘chants made me emotional’
“I used to be contained in the stadium, and at any time when the group roared ‘Pratika Rawal! Pratika Rawal!’, I acquired goosebumps. I felt an immense sense of pleasure, seeing my baby taking part in for India. The one we educated and watched develop up is now representing the nation, taking part in in a World Cup, and that too, in such an important match. It was an actual do-or-die sport at the moment, and he or she scored 100 — her first in a World Cup. That makes me extraordinarily proud,” Pradeep advised IndiaToday.in.
Pradeep has performed a pivotal function in shaping his daughter’s profession, starting her coaching on the tender age of three. A medium pacer and hard-hitting batter throughout his college days, he adopted a contrasting strategy whereas teaching his daughter, urging her to play alongside the bottom – a trait that laid the inspiration for her elegant batting type. He additionally credited Railways coach Deepti Dhyani for remodeling Pratika’s sport after taking her underneath her wing in 2017.
“In her childhood, I used to be her first coach. I at all times advised her, ‘Play along with your head down, preserve your photographs grounded.’ Then, in 2017, Coach Deepti Dhyani from Railways got here into her life and labored on her method. The enhancements you see at the moment are all because of her,” Pradeep recalled.
On Thursday, Pratika etched her identify into the document books, changing into the joint-fastest batter to achieve 1,000 runs in Girls’s ODIs, alongside Australia’s Lindsay Reeler. The 25-year-old has loved a stellar begin to her profession, amassing 1,110 runs from 23 innings at a median of fifty.45 and a strike charge of 82.83, together with two centuries and 7 fifties.
WHEN PRATIKA STUNNED RANJI STARS
Her success, nonetheless, has come as no shock to her father, who noticed her potential early on – again when, as a nine-year-old, she was already leaving seasoned Ranji Trophy gamers astonished by her stroke play.
“I handed her a bat when she was simply three years outdated. When she turned 9, I despatched her to an academy. There was a university-level match as soon as at Lakshmibai School, the place a number of the women have been Ranji Trophy gamers — and nine-year-old Pratika scored fifty runs in that sport. All of the senior gamers have been amazed, saying, ‘Uncle, your daughter has one thing particular — she’s India-level. materials’,” mentioned Pradeep.
“Once they mentioned that, I felt an actual sense of hope. Each father or mother loves their baby, in fact, however when skilled gamers say one thing like that, you begin believing it. That is after I knew she would play for India in the future,” he added.
Cricket, nonetheless, wasn’t the one sport that captured Pratika’s curiosity throughout her adolescence. She was additionally a gifted basketball participant and even received a gold medal on the sixty fourth Faculty Nationwide Video games in Delhi in 2019. It wasn’t till 2020 that Pratika lastly selected cricket over basketball, making her home debut. for Delhi in 2021, earlier than shifting to Railways in 2024.
Pratika made her worldwide debut towards the West Indies in December 2024, getting her cap from idol Smriti Mandhana. Through the first ODI in Vadodara, she scored a composed 40, adopted by an aesthetic 76 (86) within the second ODI. Since then, the 25-year-old has cast a formidable opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana, with the duo amassing 1,799 runs from 23 innings, together with seven century stands — the joint-second highest for the opening wicket in girls’s cricket.
STRIKE RATE AN ISSUE?
Pradeep attributes their success to their contrasting but complementary types, which permit them to navigate totally different phases of the sport seamlessly.
“It has been very helpful. See, Smriti is a senior participant and at present ranked primary. She has already scored seventeen centuries — she’s a top-class batter. She retains scoring freely, whereas Pratika rotates the strike fantastically with singles and doubles. Due to that, the run charge by no means drops. Pratika helps Smriti rather well, and that is why their partnership has been so Profitable,” Pradeep advised India Right this moment.
He additionally addressed the strike-rate debate surrounding his daughterreiterating that each participant has a definite strategy to the sport.
“Look, each participant is totally different. Some are stroke gamers, some are strike gamers, and a few concentrate on rotating the strike. Everybody has their very own type. You possibly can’t evaluate one participant with one other — particularly not with Smriti. She’s primary and has her personal distinctive strategy. Pratika’s type is about taking singles and doubles, discovering the gaps, and hitting boundaries in between. That is how she builds her innings,” defined Pradeep.
‘ONLY INDIA CAN BEAT AUSTRALIA’
As Pratika guided India into the semi-finals of the Girls’s World Cup, Pradeep acknowledged the formidable problem forward as India put together to face both Australia or South Africa for a spot within the last. However, he stays assured that the Girls in Blue have what it takes to beat the reigning champions.
“That is going to be an enormous match. However I will inform you one factor — India is the one staff on the planet that may beat Australia. No different staff can actually problem them the best way India can. If anybody can defeat them within the semi-finals or finals, it is India,” mentioned Pradeep with conviction.
As Pratika’s worldwide profession continues to blossom, her father holds lofty ambitions for her future, hoping she is going to in the future be remembered among the many greats of the sport.
“For me, my idols have at all times been Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. I need her to construct milestones like them — centuries, runs, data — and have her identify remembered among the many legends of cricket,” he mentioned.
For Pratika, nonetheless, the journey is barely simply starting. With youth on her facet and an insatiable starvation to study, the 25-year-old has all of the makings of a modern-day nice. Because the Girls in Blue march in the direction of attaining World Cup glory on dwelling soil with renewed confidence, one factor is for certain — if Pratika Rawal continues to bat with the identical grace, maturity, and willpower, Indian cricket might effectively have discovered its subsequent long-term star on the prime of the order.
– ends