Smriti's been pegging me to give her a couple of overs – Amol Muzumdar

The Indian women seized the ongoing ODI series against South Africa as they clinched the second game after a thrilling battle at Chinnaswamy. The Indian women rode on some imperious batting from Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana to pile up 325.

A collective display from the Indian bowlers saw them coming good against the formidable Proteas as the latter could only make it to 321, falling four runs short in the end. Indian women’s head coach, Amol Muzumdar had a lot to say after the nail-biting thriller and India’s stunning series win.

Talking in a post-match interview, Muzumdar said, “My heartbeat is still beating a little bit faster. I've got a few more grey hairs, that's for sure after this game. It was one of the moments where you just let go of your emotions. It was a fantastic game, 325 on the board, at the end of the day, it was an exciting game to watch - not from the dug-out but for the crowd.”

Heaping praises on Pooja Vastrakar for that brilliant final over, Muzumdar added, “Some amazing stuff that she did in the last over. In the previous over, she had gone for runs, but she came back really strongly. It's very crucial to comeback, she proved she has a heart of gold. She bowled a spectacular final over and I am pretty sure that the bowling coach will be happy.”

Muzumdar also spilled the beans on Smriti’s bowling, stating, “She's been pegging me to give her a couple of overs because we had a batter scampered. We made a conscious effort amongst our top six batters, somebody needs to put their hand up and bowl a few overs. It is a relief for the team and she's glad that she's picked up a wicket.”

The Indian women’s head coach also talked about the constantly rising pressure, adding, “The only message was just hold your nerves. We weren't holding our nerves in the dug-out, but the message was very clear. Hold your nerves and try and use the variation. Try and mix up the pace. That message was sent across to Pooja and she delivered at the very right time.”

Muzumdar concluded with a word of praise for Arundhati Reddy who was handed over her ODI debut, stating, “Arundhati Reddy had a brilliant game, mind you it's just her first ODI game. Fantastic stuff from her, credit to her hard work and that's paying off now.”