Happy to get runs before international season: Veda Krishnamurthy

Seven games into the 2016-17 domestic season, a minimal 11 was Veda Krishnamurthy's best effort thus far. In her defence, of the seven games that Railways played in the inter-state Senior Women's One-Day League, three matches were washed out, thanks to a last-minute switch from Guwahati to rain-affected Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. She didn't get to bat in another one and in their final game, walked in with only three balls remaining in the innings. But given the lengthy international season ahead, that's hardly an excuse she'd want to give.

In the opening match of the Senior Women's Challenger Trophy in Vadodara on Saturday (October 22), where the national selection panel barring the south zone representative Sudha Shah were in attendance, India Blue's Krishnamurthy proved her credentials as a reliable middle-order bat with a match-winning run-a-ball 87, just ahead of the start of the international season that will hold her in good stead.

"I'm glad that I got runs right before the season because I (now) will have that confidence going in," Krishnamurthy said after guiding defending champions to a one-wicket win in a low-scoring thriller against India Red, at the Motibaug Cricket Stadium.

"It's a good feeling. When you have worked hard so much (in the off season) and you don't get to bat in the match (it's disappointing). Because, that's where you get your confidence. I'm glad to have scored now."

On a batting friendly wicket, Mithali Raj, the Blue's skipper, put the Reds in first. The team would have had second thoughts about the decision when Red team's openers Smriti Mandhana and S Meghana put on a 49-run stand. Courtesy Poonam Yadav's four-for the defending champions were able to restrict the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team to a modest 183. Given a star-studded line-up at the top of their order, Krishnamurthy didn't fancy her chance of getting some batting practice. Not to soon, at least. But the Reds had them reeling at 34 for 3 when Krishnamurthy walked out to join her captain Raj in the middle. The target, as she saw it, was 150 from the remaining 33 overs.

"I just wanted to take my own time to settle down because I knew there were a lot of overs," Krishnamurthy said, before being interrupted for the first round of selfies and autographs. "Having Mithali at the other end is always a confidence booster. You don't have to think so much, the thinking part is done by her. You just have to stick on and try to get the runs going again and then see how the match is shaping up," she added.

It was a sedate start for the No. 5 batsman who turned 24 barely a week ago. Having played more than three overs, her score was still in single digits. But that didn't bother her. With her captain well set at the other end, Krishnamurthy knew she had to play the ball on the merit and find her rhythm before switching gears. She'd seen the Reds' batters earlier in the day being over ambitious and going for big hits right from the start. Krishnamurthy insists she didn't want to make the same mistake, not on a pitch that promised a lot of runs if a batter showed application.

"Even though I wasn't getting runs, Mithali had got 2-3 boundaries in a couple of overs. It wasn't wasn't like the runs were completely blocked, so I knew I had to pick the right ball to start off with my run-scoring.

"I felt today was my day, is what I would say. Whatever I'd thought of, came out well today."

Having the support of her captain Raj allowed Krishnamurthy to take her time and settle in. "It is very easy to bat along with her, because you know there is a senior partner playing with you, someone with so much experience and someone who gives you that confidence standing at the non-striker's. That changes mindset of a batsman completely. I took my time because I knew we were getting runs at one end."

When the runs started flowing in from both ends, Reds seemed to be quickly running out of options. Krishnamurthy, at the moment, was starting to accelerate and the partnership was 81 when Ekta Bisht sparked new life into the game by taking out the Blue skipper. Krishnamurthy the assumed the role of the senior statesman, and anchored the remaining chase. The right-handed batter mounted the pressure on the opposition by not just punishing the loose deliveries, but also by stealing few extra runs every now and then. Her 87-ball effort included 10 boundaries and three hits over the ropes.

"When we lost her (Raj), we needed around another 70-odd runs and I just wanted to get as many of those as possible before the 40th over before the fielding restrictions come into the picture.. so that it becomes easier later on. After 40th (over), when the field is spread, the boundaries become a little difficult to come and I did't want to leave it on the tail to get the runs. You can't expect the new batter to clear the infield from the word go. That's why I was looking for more boundaries even when Anuj (Anuja Patil) came into bat, because I just wanted to reduce the margin as quickly as possible."

Speaking of margins, Krishnamurthy fell 13 short of what would have been a confidence-boosting first hundred in the new season. "I didn't actually know that I was nearing hundred, I just knew we needed some 20 more to win. So, I just wanted to finish as quickly as possible. I didn't want to put pressure on Anuj because she had just come in to bat, I wanted to give her that cushion, you know, of taking her own time."

It probably was an advantage that the lone scoreboard at the ground didn't carry individual scores, for a batter who hasn't had an ideal start to the season could be itching to get a triple-figure mark against her name. Well, clearly not the case here. "I don't think it would have stopped me from playing my strokes, even if I'm nearing a hundred," she signed off with a confident grin.