With four runs needed to win and three balls in which to get them, you might expect the batter just to nudge a couple of twos or singles.
But not Deepti Sharma: she blazed a six straight down the ground to win the women’s edition of The Hundred in August, capping a fine tournament for the India star.
Once the celebrations have dampened down, Sharma’s focus will switch to international matters – not least the T20 World Cup, where she will be expected to play a key role for an India side that has a genuine chance of lifting the trophy.
World Stage
India have never won the women’s T20 World Cup, but at 4/1 in the betting odds for the 2024 edition, they are clearly ones to watch.
The sports predictions will focus on the odds-on favourites, Australia, of course, who have won six of the last seven editions of this tournament.
But there’s a sense that India could yet upset the applecart of a magnificent seventh, with a number of their players establishing themselves amongst the world’s best in the T20 format – Sharma chief amongst them.
Load up the list of leading wicket-takers in T20 internationals in 2024, and you’ll see that, amongst the established elite nations, Sharma has taken more wickets than any other player.
The off-spinner was in decent form with both bat and ball in the summer’s Hundred event, following up her heroics in the Women’s Premier League – her knock of 88 from 66 balls against Gujarat Giants will live long in the memory.
Having been an unused squad member at Birmingham Phoenix in 2022 and not picked in 2023, Deepti Sharma returned to #TheHundred in style https://t.co/NdUu1CTxAu
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 20, 2024
There will no shortage of support for the 26-year-old, either. Smriti Mandhana is one of the best T20 batters in the women’s game, averaging a sizable 28.86 in the shortest international format of the sport at a strike rate of 122.
Harmanpreet Kaur is a wily campaigner with lots of big-game experience, while a host of up-and-coming stars add depth and quality to the India squad.
Assuming the T20 World Cup takes place in Bangladesh as planned, the Indian players should enjoy the slow, turning conditions too – perfect for Sharma to showcase why she’s considered amongst the very best limited overs bowlers on the planet.
England Expects
Another contender to Australia’s throne could well be England, the 2009 champions and three-time runners-up, whose key players looked in decent nick in The Hundred.
Heather Knight, who will captain England, also skippered the London Spirit side featuring Sharma that won the competition. And she’s bullish about her side’s chances, having watched the likes of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt get in the runs and Emily Arlott, Freya Davies, and Georgia Davis amongst the tournament’s leading wicket-takers.
Happy birthday, Nat Sciver-Brunt 🎂🎉
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 20, 2024
She was named Wisden’s Leading Women’s Cricketer in the World (2023).
Read our ranking of her nine ODI centuries➡️ https://t.co/DD7f0AWPT2 pic.twitter.com/yqUX5BryWy
Knight described herself as ‘really pleased’ with the progress of her players heading into the World Cup campaign, although they will need to adapt to the unique conditions in Bangladesh quickly.
Intriguingly, the T20 World Cup draw has been made – England, in Pool B, will be kept apart from both Australia and India during the early skirmishes.
That could prove vital in terms of qualification for the business end of the competition, so both England and India are shaping up to be dangerous contenders to Australia’s monopoly of dominance.
