The inclusion of Renuka Singh Thakur in the Royal Challengers Bangalore team last season was regarded as a major win for the team. Prior to the start of the Women’s Premier League, Renuka had an incredible 2022, taking 40 wickets in 29 white-ball matches.
Renuka, like the majority of the RCB bowling unit, struggled when the WPL 2023 started. She averaged 159 in the 16.4 overs she bowled last season, taking just one wicket while giving up 9.54 runs per over.
Tuesday at the M Stadium, Renuka bowled a match-winning opening spell against Gujarat Giants, doubling her wicket total from 2023. Renuka put the Giants under pressure early in the game with figures of 2/14 in a four-over burst, from which they never recovered, scoring 107/7 in 20 overs. With Smriti Mandhana entertaining a boisterous crowd with her best knock in the WPL so far, smashing a boundary-filled 43, it took RCB just 12.3 overs to chase it down.
The two players who played against the unfortunate Giants team may have best captured RCB’s misery from the previous campaign. And they have started this edition with back-to-back victories after beginning 2023 with five straight losses.
Although Smriti’s batting performance was heavily criticized, the bowling u
nit’s poor play was primarily to blame for RCB’s first-year woes. With the astute addition of Australian spinners Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham, who demonstrated their class against the Giants by picking up 3/25 with her left-arm spin, they did well to address that in the auction.
Renuka, however, bowled round the wicket to remove two crucial left-handers, setting up the victory. Beth Mooney was the first, as she managed to get the ball to rattle the stumps and enter at an angle. Phoebe Litchfield came next, drawing the batter out to be stumped after forcing the ball to move away this time. Renuka’s efforts at the National Cricket Academy since the conclusion of the home season have yielded both outcomes.
One type of delivery will not suffice in India. We need more variety, so I’ve worked closely with coach Troy Cooley to incorporate slower balls, reverse swingers, and away swingers. Renuka had stated prior to RCB’s opening game, “That’s precisely why I wanted to go to the NCA, to work more on these and fitness.” She said that during that period, she bowled a lot of deliveries from around the wicket.
Although Smriti’s ball-striking against the Giants is encouraging, RCB would also be happy with Renuka’s early explosion. Renuka’s ability to dismiss openers through the gate is one of her strong points; Indian fans grew accustomed to this sight in 2022. After a protracted injury layoff, she was making her comeback to international cricket in the home season, and there were indications that she was finding her rhythm once more. She felt truly back, to be honest, during her spell against the Giants.
