The Women in Blue have begun well. And they are getting hungrier.

Bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi said winning the first two games at the Women’s T20 World Cup has given the team the momentum. “The way our preparations went, and to get those two wins under our belt, it was very important to get the game time as well,” he said. “The games against Pakistan and the Netherlands were important, in terms of Net Run Rate.”

Ahead of the important match against South Africa at Old Trafford on Sunday, he said the team was hungry not just to perform but to work hard as well. “In the last two years and a half I have spent with these girls, I have seen how hard they work to take their games to different levels,” he said. “They were pushing their limits even after winning the World Cup trophy.”

About Prema Rawat coming in as a replacement for the injured Shreyanka Patil, he said: “We will miss the services of Shreyanka for sure, but Prema is also an equally exciting talent,” said Salvi. “She has also done well in the kind of opportunity she has got in the past. The way she has been bowling, we all are pretty confident with the kind of potential she has.”

He is impressed with the way Nandani Sharma has come along. The young seamer had taken two wickets against the Netherlands at Headingley on her World Cup debut.

“She is very special,” he said. “She could bowl across the different phases, including the PowerPlay and slog overs. She is mentally very strong. She is very calm and composed under pressure. We have seen that at the international level and at the WPL, too.”

About the team selection, like fielding Yastika Bhatia in the last match in place of Bharti Fulmali, he said: “We are picking horses for courses.”