OPINION
Follow UsOn 15th May 2017, away from the glaring eyes of the media, the Women in Blue locked horns against Ireland in a league match of the Quadrangular series at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.
With an eye on one of the most awaited tournaments, the World Cup, which was about to commence in over a month's time, India went through gruelling hours of training and numerous matches under their belt before the mega event.
While they were expected to dominate proceedings against Ireland in that match, there was one player who grabbed this opportunity with both hands and rewrite the record books along with Punam Raut.
After opting to bat first, Deepti Sharma walked in to open the batting along with Raut for the Women in Blue. Coming into this game on the back of low scores by her standard, the southpaw knew she had to make this innings count as it was her last chance to make a mark in the absence of Smriti Mandhana.
Despite opening the batting all through her domestic career, Deepti was not the first choice opener for the Indian side heading into this series. However, a freak injury to Mandhana in the Women's Big Bash League earlier in the year provided the Agra-born player with an ideal opportunity to make her mark.
And guess what, she delivered a record-breaking performance along with her opening partner as they smashed the Ireland bowling unit all-around the park to record the highest partnership of 320 runs in the history of ODI cricket.
En route to this masterclass, Deepti has scored 188 runs, the highest individual score by an Indian player in this format, to not only cement her place in the team but also showcase her prowess with the bat at the top of the order.
Despite making her debut in 2014, Deepti has opened only in 13 innings thus far and scored 618 runs at an average of 56.18. However, with Mandhana back in the playing XI for the Indian side for the World Cup, Deepti was yet again slotted down the order.
Deepti yet again impresses with a silent contribution
Over the course of her eight-year-long international career, Deepti has batted in all the batting positions starting from opening the batting to number 10 and excelled in each of them.
A couple of months later, after her heroics in South Africa, Deepti walked in when the Women in Blue were tottering at 101 for the loss of three wickets at the halfway mark against Australia in the semi-finals.
While all eyes were on Harmanapreet Kaur, the youngster consolidated the innings with the vice-captain and forged a crucial 137-run stand for the fourth wicket to power India to a formidable first-innings total.
Her knock of 25 off 35 deliveries was crucial in the context of the game as she held one end up, allowing Harmanpreet to take the attack to the Aussie bowling unit. She followed it up with the wicket of Alex Blackwell, sending the fans in a frenzy as India secured their place in the summit clash at the Home of Cricket.
A step towards erasing the scars of the World Cup
While a lot was expected of her in the recently concluded World Cup, she failed to impress and create an impact for the team as she did in the last edition.
To add to her agony and the millions watching from the stands and back home, she bowled a no-ball that denied India the wicket of Mignon du Preez and knocked them out of the competition.
With scars of the World Cup well and truly raw in the minds of every Indian player and especially Deepti, India sojourned on their journey in the island nation of Sri Lanka for the white-ball series.
Despite clinching the series in the shortest format, it is fair to say, India are struggling with their combinations and experience in the batting unit. On a sluggish wicket on offer in Pallekele, Sri Lanka opted to bat first after winning the toss.
And finding her mojo back with the ball, the off-spinner weaved her magic in the middle overs to scalp three wickets for 25 runs in her nine-over spell that helped India bundle out Sri Lanka for 171 runs.
In pursuit of 172 runs, India relied on their destructive opening combination of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, along with the exuberance of Harmanapreet, to guide India over the line.
However, like in most run chases by the Indian team, they were tottering at 123 for 5 when Deepti walked in to take centre stage with 49 runs required.
To be honest, for someone following the women's game to the T, most people expected Deepti to play a crucial role in this series after the retirement of Mithali Raj. However, to everyone's surprise, she walked in at number six, yet again adding question marks to her role and responsibility in this set-up.
And like always, she steadied this wobbly run chase with some solid defence and some nudges for a couple of singles and doubles to keep the scoreboard ticking along with Pooja Vastrakar.
In her brief stay at the wicket for her match-defining innings, Deepti looked assured in her footwork, and the ability to play the sweep stroke on a turning track was one of the standout features of this innings.
While the Indian fans were ecstatic when Vastrakar smashed a six to end the innings and help India take a 1-0 lead, deep down, they would realise this would have never been possible without the contribution of Deepti.
It is hard to believe that when people talk about the Indian team, the likes of Shafali and Mandhana, and Harmanpreet are the prominent names that come to everyone's mind. However, India is blessed to have the all-around abilities of Deepti, who has time and again defied odds and showcased her credentials to be a vital cog in the playing XI of the side.
It is fair to say, she is the most underrated player in the women's set-up, and India ought to give her a lot of credit for her ability to switch into any role seamlessly, which lends balance to the side.
