MUMBAI: When Sneh Rana came to bat in the second innings of the Test against England at the County Ground in Bristol, India were holding on to a very slim lead after being asked to follow on by Heather Knight. Soon, she lost two batting partners — Harmanpreet Kaur and Shikha Pandey.
Wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia by her side, she was the last recognised batter in the line-up with a responsibility to save the match for her team on her Test debut. And she nailed her job with 80 runs off 154 balls and an unbeaten partnership of 104 runs took the game away from the hosts. It didn't win India a match, but it was a riveting display of character. Rana, on her debut, was a hero.
Since then, Rana had to wait for her chance in the format. When India played a pink-ball Test against Australia, Rana was not part of the playing XI. She had to wait till 2023 and once she got a chance, she took it with both hands. She took nine wickets in two matches, helping India beat England and Australia at home in a span of a few days.
"When you are referring to 2021, which was my comeback, obviously it was a good feeling for me because it was my debut match. We couldn't win it (against England), it ended in a draw. But our girls fought really well. But if you talk about it now, we first beat England and then Australia. They are the two best teams in the world and we competed against them and defeated them by good margins. So it is an amazing feeling and I'm hopeful that we get to play more days cricket in the future," Rana told the media after India's win over Australia.
Rana took seven wickets in the match, including that of Australian vice-captain Tahlia McGrath in the first innings, and broke the crucial partnership with McGrath and Ellyse Perry in the second innings. "We have played red-ball cricket earlier, our domestic tournaments are played with the red ball (the inter zonal multi-day tournament was last played in 2017-18).
It's just a change of ball, a change of colour. Barring that, your skills remain the same, you don't need to change much. The preparations were very simple. There was no need to experiment because red-ball cricket is a long game. So we kept it simple and remained calm. As far as my bowling is concerned, my preparations have always been around bowling the right channels and backing my strengths. I didn't do any experiments," she added.
Even with her personal success, Rana was all praise for the youngsters in the team. "If I speak about Shubha (Satheesh) when she debuted against England, it was amazing the way she handled the pressure.
Unfortunately, she couldn't play this match due to an injury. But I hope she continues to contribute to India in the coming times. There are plenty of other youngsters in our team. They weren't part of the eleven but with their willingness to learn and the atmosphere they created, I hope they also do well in the future," she praised the youngsters.
Rana was a hero on her debut, and again in Mumbai. "I'm hopeful that we get more Test matches going forward and it will be good not just for us but also for the girls who will play for the country in the future," she said with a smile on her face. Hopefully, she will get more such opportunities soon.