NEW DELHI: Psychology is a scientific study of the mind and behaviour that helps explain how people think, act and respond — and India’s star opener Pratika Rawal seems to have mastered that balance between mind and sport. A psychology graduate with over 75 percent marks, Pratika has found ways to apply her academic knowledge to cricket. Pratika's journey, in many ways, is where psychology meets cricket. While most cricketers hum songs to calm their nerves while batting, Pratika follows a different ritual. When she takes guard, she talks to herself — observes the bowler’s body language, run-up, and eye contact, analyses every movement before facing the ball. And the ritual has paid off handsomely. Playing her maiden Women’s ODI World Cup, Pratika has scored in every match so

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