OPINION
Follow UsJanuary 19 2014: A young 19-year old girl from Dehradun was living her dream after donning the national colours for the first time in the 50-over format against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam.
A city situated on the opposite end of the spectrum, Sneh Rana and her family were overjoyed by her inclusion in the Indian team for the series against the Lankan side.
In a country with a population of a billion people, a land where cricket is considered to be a religion, Rana shattered stereotypes to become one of the most successful off-spinners in the domestic circuit.
While it is an art that hasn't got its fair share of respect and recognition, Rana spent hours in the scorching heat perfecting her skills before graduating to play for the national side.
The 2013 edition of the Women's World Cup was touted to be a turning point in the history of Indian cricket. However, their lukewarm performance in the iconic event prompted the selectors to make a flurry of changes to the side in the upcoming series against Bangladesh that followed.
Despite her consistent performances in the domestic competition, Rana failed to secure her place in the squad. However, with sheer grit and determination, she made her maiden appearance in the fifty-over format against Sri Lanka in 2014.
While she made steady progress in her international career, a knee injury in 2016 ruled her out of the Indian side. With a year of hiatus away from the game, Rana was back on her feet.
However, things were not easy for the all-rounder as she had to prove herself in the domestic circuit before staking a claim for herself in the national side.
While the Women in Blue were carving their name in the record books in the 2017 World Cup, Rana was busy piling up runs for Railways and leading them to championships year after year.
With the emergence of Deepti Sharma and the performance of the spinners, India never felt the need to look for an all-around option. However, amidst the pandemic and the below-par outing of the spinners in the home series against South Africa, the selectors finally rewarded the youngster with a chance to make a comeback to the side after naming her in the series against England.
Over five years after being away from the reckoning, Rana made a remarkable comeback to the Indian set-up as she helped the side hold onto a hard-fought draw in the one-off Test at Bristol.
While all the focus and attention was on the Indian team competing in the summit clash of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship, the Indian women's cricket team set foot at the County Ground after seven-year away from the format.
With five debutants in the playing XI, not many gave the Indian team a chance in alien conditions. However, there was one player who was living her father's dream as they donned the Test whites for the first time. A couple of months prior to her selection in the Indian squad, the 28-year old lost her biggest supporter.
Despite the setback, Rana continued to produce consistent performances in the tournament and carved her comeback to the national side. And on 16th June 2021, it was her moment to shine and showcase her talent at the international arena.
With the batting unit of the home team getting off to a flyer, the off-spinner pulled things back with four crucial wickets in her spell to help the Indian team restrict them to 396 runs in the first innings. While the first innings was all about chasing leather, a middle-order collapse with the bat on day two resulted in the visiting side managing only 231 runs in the first innings.
After being asked to follow on with just under two days of play remaining, the Indian team had their backs against the wall, staring at a massive defeat. However, the young contingent had other ideas as they produced one of the most remarkable performances to pull off a miraculous draw with Rana at the forefront.
With the pressure of saving the game and the close-in fielders, the right-hander walked in at number eight with over fifty overs to spare. In only her second innings in the longest format, she showcased grit to bail the Indian side out of jitters and score a match-defining knock of unbeaten 80 to help the team secure a famous draw.
She continued her rise at the international level by playing yet another valiant innings to help the Women in Blue halt the Aussie juggernaut in the final ODI of the series at Mackay.
In pursuit of 265 runs, the Indian team were tottering at 208 for the loss of six wickets with nine overs remaining. After losing the series 2-0 and the home team on the winning streak of 26 consecutive wins, things were looking gloomy for the Indian team in the final phase of play.
However, Rana steadied the innings by accumulating the ones and the twos and forged a crucial 33-run stand for the seventh wicket with Deepti. While the southpaw was dismissed for 31 in the 47th over, Rana continued to take the attack to the opposition bowling unit and smashed 30 off 27 deliveries to guide the Indian team over the line.
While the match has been famous for the Indian team managing to halt the Australian dominance, the knock proved to be one of the defining moments in the game that titled the match in favour of the Women in Blue.
Despite her consistent performances in the white-ball format, Rana has not been a regular in the playing XI, mainly due to the combinations and the match-ups.
With the Indian team crumbling under pressure in the last two world events, they would need the courage and the determination of the 28-year old as they aim to win the elusive title.
And as the Women in Blue step on the Bay Oval for the inaugural match against Pakistan on 6th March, all eyes will be on Rana as India aim to achieve the dream of billions of people and create history in the southern hemisphere.
