Pooja Vastrakar is a big name in international cricket, but she had to face difficulties to practice in the early days of her career. There were no special facilities for girls to practice cricket in her home city of Shahdol, but she found a way to keep playing. One day, coach Ashutosh Srivastava caught sight of Pooja’s game and her luck turned.
Pooja Vastrakar of Madhya Pradesh played brilliantly against India and Pakistan in the Women’s World Cup. I spoke to Pooja’s coach Ashutosh Srivastava some time ago.
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The coach of Shahdol District Cricket Association, Ashutosh, said, “It was about 6-7 years ago. I reached the stadium one day and saw the children playing at a distance. I saw a kid making big shots, and when I got closer, I came to know that a girl was also playing with the boys and she was shooting this shot. I met him after the match and got all the details. After that, I asked him to come for coaching.”
Pooja Vastrakar started taking coaching from coach Ashutosh. Ashutosh says that Pooja used to bowl fast along with batting. That’s why he not only taught Pooja to batting, but also asked her to focus on bowling. Today everyone knows that Pooja is India’s leading all-rounder.
Pooja Vastrakar scored a fifty in the match, the second half-century of her ODI career. She got out after scoring 67 runs off 59 balls, hitting 8 fours. She made a century partnership for the 7th wicket with Sneh Rana, who remained unbeaten on 53. Playing first, India scored 244 runs for 7 wickets against Pakistan.
Pooja Vastrakar is a talented cricketer and has achieved a lot in a short period. She is sure to achieve even more in the future.
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India Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gaikwad
Pakistan Women (Playing XI): Javeria Khan, Sidra Amin, Bismah Maroof (c), Omaima Sohail, Nida Dar, Alia Riaz, Fatima Sana, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Anam Amin
