"Accuracy, planning and mental strength - Shiv Sagar Singh's mantra to make Bengal women's best in the country" | Senior Women's T20 Trophy

Bengal senior women's team qualified for the final of the Senior Women's T20 Trophy after a gap of two years. They defeated Himachal Pradesh in a rain effected match in the semis. The two-time finalists will now go one on one against the most successful team in the tournament's history, Railways.

In the race to the final, Bengal women's team defeated teams like Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Pondicherry, Chandigarh and Saurashtra in the group stage and quarter-final. The stat that comes out interestingly from those games is that Bengal has been able to restrict their opponent below 100 in five games (when full 20 overs were played).

But, just two seasons ago, things and stats were different for the Bengal bowlers. Things started to change when the Cricket Association of Bengal appointed their very own Shiv Sagar Singh to guide the women's team in the bowling department. Shiv Sagar, popularly known as Shibu in Bengal cricket played an enormous amount of cricket to know every bit and piece of the game. He himself was a left-arm spinner and played in the 1998 U19 World Cup as well. Bengal's trust in the former first-class player started paying off when young bowlers started believing in the thought process of their new guide.

"Gaining the trust of the players was the first and foremost thing for me," said Shiv Sagar in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point. Since all the Bengal bowlers had their own processes, trusting the new process was very important for them.

"The girls are very much talented. Most importantly all of them are sincere and have the will to learn. So, it made my job easier. I just wanted to make them accurate and ready for all the situations," Shiv Sagar added.

"I want to create a bowling unit that will give Bengal women's team service for five years"

Shiv Sagar Singh.

In two and a half months with the girls, the former Bengal spinner taught each one of them how to have a different plan for the T20 format of the game and be successful in it. "The good-length ball becomes a slot delivery in the T20 format. So, you have to train differently according to the format and bowl in the areas where you will not go for the runs. The more you stop runs, the more pressure you build on the batters and thus you get them out." Shiv Sagar explained his plans for the T20 format.

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Bengal bowlers like Sukanya Parida, Gouher Sultana, Saiqa Ishaque and Mita Paul have found results from this plan. In fact, they have been able to put pressure on current India players as well by just bowling accurately and to the plan.

"I just told them to do things that we practised for two and a half months. It does not matter who is batting against you. A good ball is a good ball for everyone. If you can set a field according to it and be consistent with your planning, you can win over any opposition," Shiv Sagar Singh added.

Along with that, Shiv Sagar feels having variations up in the sleeve is important in the shortest format of the game. The bowlers should be ready whenever the batters are trying to oppose their plans. As per him, variations along with consistent tough lines and length are the formula for taking wickets.

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However, it is always easy to execute your plans in the big matches and get results against tough opponents. This is when the mental part of the bowling comes in, believes the Bengal coach. "I have made them mentally strong for every situation. They are aware of the skill they have. Moroever, they are mentally more confident now as a bowling unit."

Bengal is looking for their first-ever trophy in the senior women's t20 tournament and Shiv Sagar feels although Railways is always a tough opponent, Bengal will be confident to clinch the trophy this time. "We will have to keep doing what we have done best throughout the tournament and play within our strength in the final," Shiv Sagar expressed before the final tomorrow.

Senior Women's T20 Trophy | Final | Railways vs Bengal

Date: 5th November 2022
Time: 9.30 am
Ground: M.CHINNASWAMY STADIUM, BANGALORE
How to watch the match: The final of the Senior Women's T20 Trophy will be live-streamed on Hotstar and Star Sports channel in India.