Father Pradeep confident of witnessing more tons from daughter Pratika Rawal

The Indian womenrsquos teamrsquos new batting sensation Pratika Rawal who played a vital role 122 off 134 balls in her teamrsquos 53run win over New Zealand at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday was once distraught after being dropped by the Delhi U19 selectors her father and coach Pradeep Rawal revealedRawal Sr who like his daughter was an allrounder represented the Delhi University cricket team and is now a BCCI Level2 umpire He recalled how Pratika overcame the frustration and disappointment in her teensPratika Rawalrsquos childhood coach Vinod MattaldquoPratika was not selected in Delhirsquos U19 womenrsquos cricket team in 2018 or 2019 and we both were quite disappointed that despite scoring heavily in the trial matches she was not picked The selectors said that she was scoring too slowly I remember she turned to me and asked lsquoPapa did I really play slowrsquo She was frustrated and disappointed then but she remained mentally tough confident and determined to performrdquo Pradeep Rawal told midday on FridayFrom setback to successldquoAt that time the Delhi schools team was to play in the 64th U19 Schools Nationals in Indore Delhi schools teamrsquos coach Vinod Matta sir picked Pratika and scored a century in the very first match of 16 overs She went on to be named Player of the series When the Delhi U19 schools team emerged champions for the first time the Delhi U19 state selectors eventually picked her in the Delhi U19 team the following yearrdquo added Pratikarsquos dadOn Thursday Rawal Sr was in the stands at the DY Patil Stadium watching his daughter score her maiden World Cup century ldquoI feel so proud that Pratika scored her first World Cup century and helped the Indian team qualify for the semifinals I was watching her from the stands and enjoyed her innings I feel this stadium is lucky for usrdquo he saidWhen asked whether he expected his daughter to reach 1000 runs in her 23rd ODI and become the jointfastest player matching Australiarsquos Lindsay Reeler to achieve the milestone he replied ldquoThe way she was batting I actually wanted her to achieve it within her first 20 ODIsrdquoChasing more gloryNow Rawal Sr wants his daughter to do more ldquoWhen she left home last September for the World Cup camp I told her I wanted threefour centuries from her in this competition She replied in the affirmative Now though this century vs NZ has come a bit late but there are still three games left vs Bangladesh on Sunday the semifinal and the final so I think we can still count more tons There are bigger expectations now She adapts to situations quickly and has the confidence to deliverrdquo added Rawal Sr who started training his daughter when she was three years old aiming to groom her into a cricketer like his favourites Sachin Tendulkar Brian Lara and Mark WaughPratika was a natural sportsperson During her schooling she also represented the Delhi schools team at nationals in basketball and athletics winning gold medals Coach Matta who has been guiding Pratika since 2018 believes his ward will lead the Indian womenrsquos team in the future ldquoShe is a disciplined and focused cricketer and a quick learner She has worked really hard on her game and fitness and thatrsquos why she is getting the results now She was never scared to bat against boys older than her and always batted with ease She is sensible mature and has good leadership qualities I would like to see her leading the Indian team in the futurerdquo Matta told midday over the phone from Delhi on Friday