This is what Richa Ghosh was born to do

What if I tell you that in the 42 T20I innings that Richa Ghosh has played, she has faced more than 25 deliveries in an innings only five times? 

In fact, she didn’t face a single ball in the last T20I bilateral series against South Africa. 

Now, pause for a second. If you have seen her innings against UAE today (July 21), pause for a few seconds longer. 

Does it make you confused? Or does it make you frustrated? Because if anyone has seen this 20-year-old from Siliguri bat for India, they won’t be able to accept the fact that she hardly gets to bat for a significant duration in T20Is for India.

The incredulity of the above stat will get heightened further if you allow me to just tell you what she did on the last five balls of her innings against UAE, where she scored the fastest-ever 50-plus score in the history of T20I cricket for an Indian woman. 

UAE’s Heena Hotchandani had bowled quite well until then. 1/20 in 3.1 overs against a batting line-up like India in a game where they have been scoring at 9 runs/over and above consistently is a spectacular spell. However, she had one fielder less in the outfield for the last over, and her accuracy was tested against Richa, who was just eyeing to hit everything that came her way. 

The offside was completely packed. The line and length of the bowler were already broadcasted to the batter. It all depended on Richa now how she’d manage to thread the gaps in the 25-yard circle. 

The second delivery of the over to Richa was full outside off. It was easy stuff for her. The V is where she lives on the cricket ground as a batter. That’s where she sent the ball as well and collected a four wide off of mid-off. 

The next ball was bowled just short, but Richa still needed to use her wrists to guide that ball. She did more than just that. She not only wristily slashed the ball with power but also managed to place it wide of the diving point fielder. Another four! 

The next one was wide and full, and Richa again managed to keep clear of the point fielder and smashed a four. 

The fifth delivery was the most spectacular display of Richa’s growing range as she dished out a reverse sweep to hit a full ball to deep point for a boundary. The UAE fielders were stunned, and Richa showed all 32 of her teeth. 

After all why shouldn’t she? She had just completed her first T20I fifty and India were a boundary away from crossing 200 for the first time in their history. That’s exactly what happened on the next ball. India reached 201/5 at the end of 20 overs - the most they have scored in a T20I game! 

And there was the wicketkeeper from Siliguri, all smiles and jogging back to the pavilion, unaware of the enormity of her own performance.

Remember that super over win against Australia at the DY Patil where Richa smashed some big sixes down the ground? Remember how easily she was hitting those top-class Australian bowlers for maximums? 

Well, that’s the strength of Richa Ghosh. Hit sixes. Use power. Dominate. 

But today, against the UAE, it was her off-side play that stood out. She not only scored 75% of her runs in that region, but she did it with such finesse that it never felt like she was muscling the ball. In fact, in her innings that was played at a strike rate of 220.68, she hit just one six! All her remaining big shots were fours. 

How many 20-year-old cricketers do you know who have shown such a wide range of skills as a batter? Forget the gender of the batter in question. 

Now imagine, if Richa actually gets to play more deliveries than she now gets, what an impact she can make on the match! 

In her short career, we have already seen now that she’s the best wicketkeeper batter that India have ever had. However, it’s the manner of her stroke play and the continuous improvements she is making in her batting that puts the spotlight on her in a batting lineup that consists of flamboyant batters like Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Harmanpreet Kaur.

She proved today, at just 20 years of age, that she is the next step in the evolution of batting in Indian women’s cricket.

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