Dhoni sir’s World Cup winning hit inspired me to hit sixes in every game: New sensation Kiran Navgire

And
so,
athletics’ loss
became
cricket’s
gain
as
the
former
Maharashtra
state
level
athlete
decided
that
there
is
no
fun
if
she
can’t
tonk
the
ball
like
her
“idol”.

Eleven
years
later,
at
28,
Navgire,
who
plays
domestic
cricket
for
Nagaland,
has
found
instant
stardom,
with
some
of
the
most
powerful
blows
that
one
has
ever
seen
from
an
Indian
batter.

In
her
very
second
big
stage
game
in
the
Women’s
T20
Challenger,
the
right-handed
Navgire
hit
the
fastest
fifty
for
her
team
Velocity
and
her
34-ball-69
will
certainly
be
remembered
for
a
long
time,
especially
the
five
sixes.

“I
really
feel
good
when
I
hit
sixes
and
whenever
I
practise
in
the
nets.
I
practice
hitting
sixes,
I
follow
Dhoni
sir
and
I
love
finishing
like
him,
hitting
big
sixes,”
Navgire
told
her
teammate
Yastika
Bhatia
during
an
interaction
for
bcci.tv.

For
her,
Dhoni’s
unbeaten
91
against
Sri
Lanka
made
her
set
new
goals
as
she
concentrated
more
on
athletics,
kho-kho,
kabaddi
during
her
formative
years
while
helping
out
her
father
in
family
farm
in
Solapur
district’s
Mire
village.

“I
watched
the
2011
World
Cup
final
and
Dhoni
sir’s
winning
sixer
is
something
that
impressed
me
and
remained
imprinted
in
my
head.
That
six
inspired
me
and
I
always
feel
that
in
every
match,
I
can
hit
a
six
like
that,”
said
the
stockily
built
Navgire,
who
was
a
state
level
shot-putter.

On
Thursday
(May
26),
Velocity
skipper
Deepti
Sharma
sent
her
up
the
order
at
No.
3
and
Navgire
didn’t
disappoint
anyone,
taking
international
bowlers
like
Poonam
Yadav,
Salma
Khatun
and
Rajeshwari
Gayakwad
to
the
cleaners.

“I
dont
like
playing
dot
balls
and
want
to
score
something
off
every
ball
and
hence
I
got
a
good
score,”
her
answers
were
as
uncomplicated
as
her
lofted
hits.

“In
domestic
cricket,
I
hadn’t
batted
up
the
order
but
I
had
a
good
season
there
and
had
some
good
scores.
My
game
revolves
around
my
power
hitting
ability
and
if
it’s
in
my
arc,
I
send
it
out
of
the
park
and
if
there
are
good
balls,
I
like
to
rotate
strikes
playing
singles
and
doubles,”
Navgire
said.

She
admitted
that
she
was
a
bit
nervous
at
the
start
but
coach
Devika
Palshikar’s
sound
advice
did
help
a
lot.

“Initially,
I
was
a
bit
nervous
bit
then
everything
settled
down.
The
captain
(Deepti)
and
teammates
gave
me
lot
of
confidence.
Coach
Devika
ma’am
said
‘you
don’t
need
to
look
at
the
bowler
but
at
the
ball
and
I
did
just
that,”
she
added.