Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami spoke of the immense satisfaction she got from doing “extraordinary stuff” for her country in a conversation with teammate Shikha Pandey for bcci.tv.
The 34-year-old Goswami recently became the highest wicket-taker in women’s One-Day Internationals when she overtook Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick, during the match against South Africa in May in the quadrangular series. Goswami currently has 185 wickets and she spoke about her journey to get here.
“Starting from my career, from my early days, I know all the wickets. I vividly remember all these dismissals,” said the Bengal pacer. “I enjoy each and every moment, whenever you do something extraordinary for your country and that gives you lot of satisfaction. At the same time, a lot of responsibility and a lot of expectations are also placed on you.”
Goswami picked Australian pace great Glenn McGrath as one of her early inspirations. “I learnt from his way of bowling because he was so accurate,” she said. “He was so consistent about his line and length, whenever he got an opportunity, he was a match-winner for Australia and on a consistent basis, so that really inspired me.”
The Indian team is currently in England playing of a series of warm-ups in preparation for the Women’s World Cup which gets underway from June 23. An experienced professional, Goswami believed keeping things tight was the key for success in the country.
“England are a very competitive side and the margin of error is very low. If you are not bowling in the right areas, they will hit you,” she said, adding that the challenge motivated her. “If you do well against quality sides, then at least, you can assess yourself well.”
India’s pace attack in the tournament will be led by Pandey and Goswami, along with Mansi Joshi. Goswami felt the bowlers had to work with each other to deliver a good performance.
“I always feel bowling is a partnership,” said the 34-year-old. “Mansi is a promising youngster. She has the quality to do well. You (Shikha) are there, you are already experienced and have played almost 30-40 ODIs. We are looking forward to something extra in England. You have to be bang-on from the first ball because if you are not, it is difficult to get back in a match.”