Team India's all-rounder Deepti Sharma heaps praise on Niki Prasad

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India all-rounder Deepti Sharma praised debutant Niki Prasad’s composure under pressure, saying the youngster’s calm approach during their match-winning partnership in the opening women’s T20I against Zimbabwe on Friday showed the potential she possesses.

India recovered from 19-4 to chase down a target of 115 with four wickets and 26 balls to spare. Deepti scored 49, while Niki remained unbeaten on 39 as the pair shared an 82-run partnership off 63 balls for the fifth wicket to help India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Speaking after the match, Deepti said Niki’s ability to remain composed in a high-pressure situation during her international debut stood out, particularly when India had lost four wickets inside the first four overs.

India’s Deepti Sharma during her 49 against Zimbabwe in Raipur on Friday

“There is one thing about Niki, which I said in the interview earlier, that she was playing with a free mind. It didn’t feel like she had come into a pressure situation or that she was playing her first match, because I have seen a lot of players who get a little nervous about the first match,” Deepti said in a video released by BCCI on X.

“Because when I also played, I used to get nervous. But when I saw Niki, I didn’t feel like that at all. And when we built a partnership, she was also telling me that we will just focus on the partnership and we just wanted to finish,” she said.

Deepti added that such clarity of thought at a young age reflected the batter’s maturity and could prove important for her future in Indian cricket. “So as a youngster, when that thought comes to mind, that’s when you know how far that player will go,” she said.

Deepti said their priority was to build a partnership and keep the required run rate under control. “It was very simple in my mind. I just wanted to build a partnership. That’s what we both were thinking inside. Because that situation was a little tricky. If we could score a few runs every over, like 4-5 from singles, then we will reach there. So that was the mindset. And that’s how we played,” she said.

All about Niki Prasad

Bengaluru-born Niki Prasad, 20, started playing tennis-ball cricket at the age of six. She then joined a cricket academy near her home before switching to an academy 24 kms away for professional training. The Karnataka player, who missed out on a place in the 2023 U-19 Women’s World Cup squad, worked hard and not only found a place in the 2025 U-19 World Cup-winning squad, but also led the way as captain in Malaysia. Prasad won the Player of the Match award on her WPL debut for Delhi Capitals against Mumbai Indians in 2025.

It’s a different pride to score winning runs for India: Niki after debut heroics

India debutant Niki Prasad said scoring the winning runs in her first international match was a special feeling, as she and Deepti Sharma rescued the hosts from a dramatic top-order collapse to secure a four-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the opening women’s T20I. 

“I think it’s a very good feeling. To go there and play the first match for India. It’s a great pride, plus it’s a different kind of pride to score the winning run,” she said in a video released by BCCI on X. “I have been in this situation for a long time. So I was very calm inside. I just wanted to make a partnership with a batter. So the runs will be chased easily. That was the mindset I had,” Niki said.

153
No of runs scored by Delhi Capitals’s Niki Prasad in 18 WPL matches at a average of 30.60

56
No of runs scored by Niki Prasad in three T20s for India ‘A’ against Australia ‘A’ in September; she also claimed two wickets

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