NEW DELHI: The ODI opener Pratika Rawal revealed that her father, Pradeep Rawal, had gotten special banners made for India’s do-or-die match against New Zealand and said she only found out about them when her teammates mentioned it after her batting innings.
Pratika batted prolifically against the White Ferns on Thursday, with her 212-run partnership with Smriti Mandhana and the centuries scored by the opening pair helping set the tone for India’s commanding victory in Navi Mumbai.
Speaking about her father getting banners and posters to the game, Pratika, in a video shared by the BCCI, said, “Even I got to know today and he opened it one by one. I think the first one was for the 50-run partnership, maybe something like that, that for me and Smriti di when we were playing. My teammates told me, actually after I was done with my batting that you know your dad has got a few banners, and I'm like okay fine, I will see. I'm very happy that he's enjoying it. This is what he wanted me to do when I was a child and I think more than me, he's more proud seeing his daughter play for the country and now we're in that head space, we're in the semifinals. It's a huge deal for him and a huge deal for me as well.”