It truly was one magical night. If ever the second season of the Women’s Premier League needed a launch, this was it. On a Friday (February 23) night, you really couldn’t have asked for better entertainment. Paltan, we have kicked things off in style, and you can keep the party going bindaas. Yastika Bhatia, one of the stars of the evening, came out for the post-match press conference, and answered an array of questions, ranging from her form, to her knock, to the epic finish. Excerpts..

Thoughts at the halfway stage on the target of 172

Definitely I felt it was a chasable score. The outfield had gotten faster and there was dew as well. I wasn’t thinking about the score or the balls or the runs. I was just playing the ball. I knew if I focused on the process, that thing would be taken care of.

On her role in the powerplay

Whenever I play in the powerplay, my role is to play the aggressor’s role so that there is no pressure on my partner. I usually love playing in the powerplay because there are only two fielders outside. I enjoyed my time out there.

On the role assigned to her by the Mumbai Indians management

When I went out to play today, I had all the freedom. The MI management always gives me the freedom to play all my shots and express myself. That was all I had in mind. Just wanted to powerplay to go well, and play the ball on merit. I want to do better. When I got out there was pressure on the other batter. I would like to bat longer and hopefully I can do that going ahead.

On the dropped catches

This is a tough ground to field because the ball travels very quickly over here. Even in the air it travels faster. I think our players did a good job to get under the ball. Catches get dropped by the best of people. But our aim would be to go for the catches.

Whether she sees the WPL as a stepping stone to get into the Indian World Cup squad

I try and improve every day. I don’t think too much about the World Cup or anything. As an Indian team, we all are in a stage where we want to improve each day. I have conversations with my coaches like Amol (Muzumdar) sir, and they tell me to try and improve each game and take the game to the next level. WPL is a good platform for that. For MI as well, I want to win as many matches as I can.

On her form coming into the WPL

My domestic season went very well. International went well too. There was no pressure about not scoring runs in my head or the management’s head. Similarly with Harry di (Harmanpreet Kaur) as well. We were just thinking about how to win this game. We were making plans according to the bowlers, whom to attack, where to score.

Whether the onset of dew made the chase easier

There was a fair bit of dew. But winning or losing doesn’t depend on that. Whoever plays better cricket wins.

On the epic finish by Sajana Sajeevan

If you heard Harry di speak in the interviews, she had called Sajana (Sajeevan) the player to watch out for in this WPL. Our team shows faith in her and she is like the Kieron Pollard of our women’s team. She did it really well today. Credit to her. She has an inspiring story and has come here from a humble background. We are all very happy and proud of her. Her family would be very proud when she hit that six today.