OPINION
Follow Us14th February 2021: The Women in Blue are struggling at 135 for 4 inside 29 overs after electing to bat first in the second match of the white-ball series against the White Ferns.
With the team crumbling under pressure and the dismissal of Harmanpreet Kaur, and not many runs on the board, a teenager walks in to take centre stage at number six.
In only her fifth innings at the international stage in this format, Richa joined forces with Mithali Raj to steady in the Indian innings. Such is the beauty of the game that the frenzy fans of the sport witnessed two players at the opposite ends of the spectrum in their international career crawling their way to stage a comeback for the national side.
In the subsequent 75 minutes of play that followed, the duo displayed batting of the highest calibre to bail the Indian side out of the crisis and showcase glimpses of great things to follow for Indian cricket.
While the onus of the side has relied heavily on Mithali ever since her debut in 1999, it was heartening to see a teenager shouldering the responsibility of the side in the early days of her international career.
Interestingly, Richa was not even born when Mithali made headlines for her unbeaten ton in her debut game against Ireland in 1999. However, such has been the aura of Mithali that women's cricket across the globe is synonymous with her name even after two decades at the highest level.
With the team tottering at 135 in the first innings and four wickets back in the hut, all hopes pinned on the Indian skipper to help the side get out of this challenging situation. However, it was a youngster at the other end who displayed shades of aggression and started taking the attack to the opposition bowling unit with
The right-handed batter forged a crucial 108-run stand for the fifth wicket with Mithali to power the Indian team to their highest-ever total of 270 against the White Ferns in the history of ODI cricket. While Mithali held one end by amassing an unbeaten 66 off 81 deliveries with three boundaries, it was Richa's aggressive style of play that gave the team much-needed impetus in the back end of the innings.
Displaying an array of strokes all around the ground, the 18-year old scored 65 off 64 balls studded with six boundaries and one massive hit over the fence to propel the side to a mammoth first innings total.
While the world of cricket witnessed her exploits with the bat in the second game, Richa graduated from playing age-group cricket for Bengal before carving a name for herself in the 2019 edition of the Challenger Trophy.
Despite not scoring a lot of runs in the Challenger Trophy, her ability to clear the boundary ropes with ease was one of the significant reasons for her inclusion in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup and the tri-series involving England and Australia, which was touted to be the curtain-raiser ahead of the extravaganza.
On 12th February 2020, a couple of weeks prior to the iconic event, Richa made her debut for the national side in place of the summit clash against Australia and scored 17 off 23 deliveries in India's 156-run chase.
While she did not feature much in the mega event, the right-handed batter made headlines after replacing Taniya Bhatia in the final game in front of the capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as a concussion substitute, making her the first female cricketer to be drafted in the Xi as a substitute in a T20 international.
Despite a mountain to climb with 185 runs to create history and wickets tumbling on the other end, Richa impressed with her temperament and scored a run-a-ball 18 after replacing Taniya Bhatia in the middle.
While the Indian team fell agonisingly short of the coveted title, it showcased the depth of talent for the side heading into what promised to be a crucial phase as a build-up to the World Cup in 2021.
However, with the growing concerns of the pandemic, the Women in Blue stepped onto the field after a year-long hiatus in a home series against South Africa in 2021. While Richa did not feature in the ODI leg of the series and the tour to England later, she was handed an ODI debut in the first game against Australia.
The right-handed batter scored an unbeaten 32 off 29 deliveries to help the Indian side get much-needed impetus after a slow start with the bat. With only five innings under her belt, Richa has amassed 163 runs at an average of 40.75.
One of the significant reasons for India's attacking style of play has been the emergence of Richa, as the right-handed batter has scored at a strike rate of 93.67.
With the middle-order struggling to find the boundary at regular intervals and keep the scoreboard ticking, Richa will be a vital cog in the batting unit of the Women in Blue as they aim to create history and carve their name in the record books with an elusive world title.
