Perth, March 10 (IANS) India’s young batter Pratika Rawal has spoken about her memorable Test debut after scoring a fighting 63 in the second innings against Australia in the one-off Test at the WACA Stadium on Sunday, saying she tried not to think about the pressure of making her debut in the format.

“That’s the beauty of this game, and I think I was not thinking that this was my first Test. Or, you know, I’m debuting for my country, you know, this jersey is something which is very special to me. I carry a lot of responsibility on my shoulders,” Pratika said in a video released by the BCCI Women on X.

“So I think I was just, like, inside enjoying my game. This is the format which I really love, which I want to score a lot of runs in. And I just practically did what I can do best,” she added.

Pratika also spoke about the challenges of Test cricket, saying that the longest format of the game pushes players to test their patience, character and mindset, especially when facing top-quality bowling attacks.

“I mean, see, I’ve always told that this is definitely a format which tests your character, which tests your patience, which tests your mindset. And I think it perfectly sums it up, you know, when you are out there, when you’re, you know, playing amongst the best bowlers, when you’re playing amongst, you know, the best bowling attack, then you have to do something,” Rawal said.

Despite Pratika’s maiden half-century in the second innings, India could set Australia a target of only 25 runs. The Alyssa Healy-led side chased it down comfortably in just 4.3 overs to win the match by 10 wickets and seal the multi-format series 12-4.

–IANS

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