Sophia Dunkley shuffled across, went down on a knee and nonchalantly sent a tossed up full delivery outside off from Shreyanka Patil sailing well over the midwicket ropes. While the world gushed over how the Gujarat Giants’ opener cleared the bigger of the two boundaries at Brabourne on Wednesday (March 8) with consummate ease, the uncapped offspinner showed great game awareness and course-corrected immediately to switch to over the wicket. Dunkley still sent the next one through midwicket for four more. Having just hit the record fastest 18-ball half-century of WPL 2023, the Englishwoman looked unstoppable. However, despite leaking 11 off the over by then, Patil trusted herself and got the reward. Dunkley stepped out to a floated delivery and ended up lofting it straight into the waiting hands of her England captain at long-off.
An ecstatic Patil had just put an end to a threatening stand when the best of RCB’s star-studded line-up didn’t have answers, and the first one to hug her on this maiden WPL wicket was a rather relieved captain Smriti Mandhana.
The immediate next over from the offie yielded six singles. RCB really would’ve wanted a wicket more, but they’d accept this gleefully too. The 20-year-old didn’t return until death overs next, but executed the plan to perfection with a host of yorkers – including the one that made a mess of Harleen Deol’s stumps in the final over. A sheepish, almost hesitant, dab celebration followed.
Patil’s first-two wickets at WPL were that of two well-set half-centurions who, in their bid to revive their team’s campaign, had decided to feed off of RCB’s bowling struggles. In yet another run-fest at the CCI’s batting paradise, where her team was guilty of conceding a second successive score of 200+ bowling first, Patil stood out with not just the impressively economical figures of 2/32 but also the calmness and confidence with which she executed the job her captain entrusted her with amidst the opposition’s skyrocketing strike-rate.
But Patil wasn’t done fighting for RCB yet.
Coming out at no. 8, when RCB needed an improbable 24 off the last five balls, Patil showed she wasn’t there just to make the numbers. The intent was clear as she drilled the first delivery she faced powerfully down the ground, only for an intervention from an already injured and strapped hand of Sneh Rana to cut it down to a single. Patil then shuffled across, went down on a knee and ramped her second ball over deep backward square for a massive six. Third ball – a second short delivery from Annabel Sutherland – pulled behind square again for four this time. The 4-ball cameo of 11* could only reduce RCB’s margin of defeat to 11 runs, but ended up giving the team probably a big win in the long run.
The game may have been all but over for the Bangalore-based club before she took guard, but Patil’s gutsy batting and the confidence in her own abilities shone through. Much like the night before when she authoritatively pulled ace India and Mumbai Indians’ allrounder Pooja Vastrakar to backward square leg, opening her account in WPL with a first-ball four. Coming in at a dire 105/6, after RCB had elected to put up a total first on a belter of a track, Patil hit several more such cracking shots in her 15-ball cameo of 23 that set up the team for a respectable 155, albeit sub-par for the conditions.
Amongst a few baffling calls made by RCB on the field against GG on Wednesday was not being proactive enough to promote the form striker in the batting order, especially when the team’s designated finisher in Richa Ghosh hasn’t really fired on all cylinders yet. And, after not having utilised Poonam Khemnar’s legspin, the think-tank probably felt the need to justify the only change made to their XI for the game by sending her in ahead of an in-form Patil – a move later revealed to be driven by the former’s exciting power-hitting behind the scenes.
However, there was an unmistakable sense of an opportunity gone begging. No. 8 may be too low a position for the pedigree Patil has shown with the bat in a line-up where established names have been guilty of throwing away starts.
“These are all questions that’ll be asked in reflection,” Devine said on the rationale behind holding Patil back, after the teams third successive defeat. “At the time you think that’s the right decision and the way Poonam’s has been striking it in the nets, you know, we have full confidence in her to be able to clear the ropes because at that stage, that’s what we needed to do.”
Patil’s intent even in a nothing to lose situation – RCB needed 22 off the last three legitimate deliveries – certainly did win Devine over, who felt such performances will only help keep others in the team on their toes.
“But for Shreyanka to come out there and to do what she did, it’s great because it puts pressure on our teammates to have to perform. And that’s what you get at the international level is if you don’t perform then your place in the team is under pressure. So I think that’s a really great learning curve for everyone involved in this team and this whole competition is there is a bit of pressure to perform. But hopefully that makes people rise to the challenge and as a really exciting prospect for [the] future.”
Patil couldn’t make RCB’s starting XI until their second game. Amongst a bunch of uncapped spin-bowling allrounders to choose from, they picked Kanika Ahuja for the her left-handedness in an otherwise right-heavy team where the only exception is their captain. A heavy defeat in their tournament opener paved the way for the inclusion of Patil, debut, whose temperament under pressure has already impressed many. Devine, for one, has earmarked the young all-rounder as someone who she sees climbing through the ranks quickly to represent India at the highest level.
“It’s just so awesome to see. Especially as an overseas pay to come in and see domestic players perform the way they have. I can’t even begin to imagine how much pressure and how nervous they must be but for them to go out. And they’ve done it not just tonight, they’ve done it the last two games as well, which has been incredible,” said the 33-year-old.
“Hopefully that shows everyone the value of this competition is it’s bridging that gap between the domestic competitions and the international level. So players like Shreyanka, she’s no doubt going to play for India in the years to come. She’s only 19-20 but seeing what she can do with the ball and how she struck the ball today, think I need to go for her for six-hitting guide. It’s a really exciting part of coming over here and seeing these new talented players come out that you’d never get to see before,” the White Ferns captain added.
RCB may have gone winless for three games now to start their maiden season, but not all is lost.
