Ayushi Soni had been within the wilderness for a while now. But the tenacious cricketer had been working diligently on her recreation with coach Ramesh Chopra, biding her time.
When the possibility got here, the 24-year-old Ayushi was unstoppable. She notched up two centuries and stood on prime of the batting charts with 453 runs from six innings and an enviable batting common of 226.5, as she was unbeaten thrice, within the current Challenger match in Dehradun.
Everyone who was somebody in Indian ladies’s cricket was taking part in within the 4 groups, apart from the Ieading stars of the nation, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana.
Coach Chopra was understandably proud that Ayushi topped the batting averages among the many 4 groups. More importantly, he was comfortable that Ayushi, batting at No. 6 in her first two innings within the three-day matches, received the arrogance of the workforce along with her sterling batting, and rose as much as be No. 3.
In that first match, Ayushi was unbeaten in each innings, scoring a complete of 103 runs at No. 6.
“Ayushi is not just hard-working, but a great student with tremendous grasp. The current performance shows that she can adapt to any situation or format of the game,” stated Chopra.
“She has been playing white ball cricket from her under-19 days. Three-day cricket with red ball was a new concept for her. Yet, in only six sessions that we did, she was ready for the long version of the game,” added Chopra, fairly happy to see his ward knocking on the door for nationwide responsibility.
Ayushi did make her debut for India in opposition to South Africa in Lucknow in 2021, however didn’t get one other look in thereafter.
“Once she got to No. 3, she scored two centuries, with 155 not out as her best. If she gets a fair chance, I am sure Ayushi can perform beyond all our expectations,” assured Chopra, who has been coaching Ayushi for greater than ten years.
It was Dronacharya awardee Sunita Sharma who had requested Chopra to take care of Ayushi, first on the cricket centre at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium within the capital in 2014. Chopra has been mentoring Ayushi at his academy after retiring from the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
He is comfortable to play a small half in strengthening Indian ladies’s cricket by readying a high quality participant like Ayushi.
Published – April 12, 2025 08:28 pm IST
