In front of almost 27,000 spectators in the Eliminator at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the Mumbai Indians had every right to believe they had a chance to chase down 136 and advance to the final against Royal Challengers Bangalore, especially with Harmanpreet Kaur and Amelia Kerr at the crease.
Fortunately for MI, who required 20 runs off 18 balls, Richa Ghosh’s mishandled stumping of Shreyanka Patil at the beginning of the 18th over gave Harmanpreet a reprieve and silenced the audience. To their jubilation, though, Shreyanka’s fearless final laugh came as Harmanpreet holed out to long-on to end the over, leaving no space for a big shot.
With MI behind by five runs, Shreyanka’s outstanding spell of 2–18 in four overs changed the contest firmly in the RCB’s favour. Smriti Mandhana & Co. will now have an opportunity to win the trophy when they play Delhi Capitals in the final on Sunday.
Earlier in the game, Shreyanka gave the RCB the first breakthrough after Yastika Bhatia was dropped in the fourth over. She did this by forcing Hayley Matthews to slog-sweep the ball straight to deep mid-wicket.
Head coach Luke Williams had stated the day before the Eliminator that Shreyanka was eager to perform well in the postseason. Now that she and Ellyse Perry have led RCB to the championship game, Shreyanka’s memorable magic with the ball will live on in the annals of time.
“Not at the last two overs, that would be flagrantly lying.” Perhaps, however, when Harmanpreet’s stumping was successful and we failed to see it, a part of me said, “If she was out, we’re in with a sniff.” However, we had another opportunity (in the same over), and despite the fact that it was a routine catch, Sophie Devine handled it under pressure and her experience demonstrated why the squad needs veteran players in addition to Shreyanka Patil, who is an undisputed champion.
You begin smelling after that and you almost start to think it’s possible. When chasing gets tough, a lot of things happen, which may have been on MI’s mind. We realised by the fifth or sixth over that 150–160 might be a respectable score. I could not place when the belief started, even if there were an excessive number of dot balls. In the press conference held after the match, RCB assistant coach Malolan Rangarajan stated, “But as soon as Harman got out, maybe that’s when we thought there’s something.”
One of the WPL 2023 breakout stars, Shreyanka first played in the CPL before making her debut for India in the series against Australia and England in both the white-ball and red-ball forms.
She was predicted to perform well in her hometown of Bengaluru for the WPL 2024 leg. However, she had a lacklustre performance, giving up 100 runs and capturing just two wickets in nine overs. But in the Delhi leg of the competition, Shreyanka came back stronger than ever, capturing seven wickets in nine overs despite giving up 45 runs.
She was bowling outside the batter’s reach in Bengaluru, but in Delhi, she has reaped large benefits for staying inside the stump-to-stump line and straying slightly from the wider lines.
“Just Shreyanka’s development over the past 12 to 16 months, since we first recognised her and included her in the setup. She was not acting in a way consistent with her age or experience, as was evident. She seemed to be a little bit above that. She was game for a battle, always. That’s the spark that you are seeking. Everyone is skilled, but it’s a dog battle that takes place indoors (on a pitch), and you’re willing to participate: Shreyanka was always like that.
“Over the past 12 months, she has improved and gained a greater understanding of her own game. She has played for India and led the South Zone squad in the Zonal One-Days. She was the first to acknowledge that she didn’t get off to the best start in the competition. However, she was also the first to admit that her bowling was lacking.
“She didn’t need me to go to her with that, nor did she need anyone else like head coach Luke Williams and assistant coach Courtney Winfield-Hill. “I am not bowling as well as I can,” she inquired. How can I help? She also devised the solutions. Yes, we occasionally helped out, but that is just who she is. People like that give you confidence that these individuals will step up and deliver when the chips are down.
“Shreyanka is a fighter, particularly when it comes to the injuries she is portraying. As she takes the batting position and sweeps the first ball, nobody would suspect that she is injured. Rangarajan, who is also the head of scouting for the RCB, continued, “These are characters that we are very proud to have in RCB and we are even prouder to see what she does for both the franchise and the country.”
He also remembered what distinguished Shreyanka from the other domestic players they were watching. “She was a 19-year-old bowling the tough overs for the senior team when we saw her representing Karnataka. She was giving the yorkers under duress, so it wasn’t like she was just taking part.
She practices and simulates center-wicket play with her coach Arjun (Dev), leaving nothing to chance. She was practicing in a different manner than our contemporaries and was even a little bit ahead of them.”
Even though Shreyanka has been playing at her peak and is rediscovering her game, it’s important to remember that these game-winning performances are happening despite the fact that she has a tightly wrapped little finger—an injury that held her out of two straight games.
“Shreyanka would have like to play both games if she had been given the choice. She is that character, as I mentioned. Even during her injury, she worked extremely hard in between those games. We had rented out a few facilities, set up centre wickets for her, and she was practicing her various releases.”
“Because at one point she tried to release the ball in a certain direction, but it was exiting in an other one. Thus, I put a lot of volume work into it, along with Courtney, Luke, and myself. Thus, we practiced extremely deliberately and frequently through simulation.”
“We were even practicing in the nets, acting out scenarios such as, ‘Okay, so tomorrow you’re going to bowl to X player; this is how the player likes to score, and this is how the player looks when she wants to play a single.'” We need the ball to end up at this length, so let’s try to assault this line.
“She handled that rather well. She may not have performed as well as she had hoped, but even after getting hurt, she didn’t give up. Ultimately, Rangarajan clarified, “I suppose somewhere during those (practice sessions) she rediscovered the beat again. It’s all about the feel and the rhythm.
On the way to the stadium, it was evident that people were beginning to favour the red of the RCB over other shirt options. The fans wearing RCB jerseys eagerly awaited the start of the match for almost two hours, giving their all in the hopes that their club would advance to the Sunday final. And guess what? Yes, they did!
You couldn’t help but notice the supporters wearing RCB shirts and enthusiastically applauding for the team while discussing all the twists and turns of the game throughout the metro ride home after the game. Shreyanka’s outstanding work with the ball contributed significantly to their satisfaction and ensured that they would play with the same zeal on Sunday as they did on Friday.
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