Renuka Singh demonstrates her ability to take over after Jhulan Goswami’s retirement.
Renuka Singh demonstrates her ability to take over after Jhulan Goswami’s retirement. Renuka Singh was the standout performer, but Deepti Sharma’s run out of Charlie Dean at the non-end striker’s was crucial in India’s 5-0 whitewash of Australia in Jhulan Goswami’s farewell series at Lord’s.
Renuka, 26, is still relatively new to international cricket, but she has shown promise and appears set to pick up where Jhulan Goswami left off with India’s fast bowling.
Renuka’s opening spell blitz of 4 for 29 in Jhulan’s final match was the key that unlocked the door for India. Amy Jones, captain of the English team, was among those she eliminated: Tammy Beaumont, Emma Lamb, and Sophia Dunkley.
Renuka enjoys bowling under English conditions; she took 11 wickets to lead India in her category at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Statements
Renuka had said to Indian Express before the ODI series against England, “Wicket pe ghaas aur thoda sa seam movement milta hai toh mooh mey paani aa jata hai” (I start drooling if I see grass on the surface and a little bit of movement).
Renuka bowled a stunning 4-0-18-4 for India in their Commonwealth Games opener against Australia, taking out Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, skipper Meg Lanning, and Tahlia McGrath.
Australia went on to win the gold medal. Renuka nearly single-handedly cost India the game, but she did her best for the team.
Renuka’s ability to take wickets with new and old balls is a notable aspect of her bowling.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s brilliant 111-ball 143 in the second ODI at Derby overshadowed Renuka’s 4-57.
England’s chase was held in check thanks to Renuka, who took out Emma Lamb and Sophia Dunkley with the new ball, and then returned in her second stint to dismiss the dangerous-looking Danni Wyatt and Sophie Ecclestone.
ODI
Renuka has taken three four-wicket hauls in her seven One-Day Internationals; two of those came in the most recent series against England. She has an outstanding economy rate of 6.23 in just 14 T20Is, collecting 15 wickets.
In her limited playing time, Renuka has quickly replaced Jhulan as Mithali Raj’s preferred bowler. After Jhulan Goswami’s retirement, India’s new ball woes have been alleviated, thanks to Renuka.
While it may be premature to draw parallels between Renuka and Jhulan, their paths to cricket have been quite similar thus far. Both began breaking the occasional window when playing cricket with their peers and cousins at a young age.
They sped up on the streets to keep up with the youngsters who only wanted to bat. One was terrorizing boys in Rohru, Himachal Pradesh, while the other was operating on the plains of Chakda, West Bengal.
When I was younger, I used to play gully cricket with my older brother Vinod and his pals. When I took up bowling, people made fun of me for being sluggish, so I taught myself to bowl with a run-up.
Renuka has bowled with Jhulan in four games; she admits that she could never fill Jhulan Goswami’s huge shoes.
I remember Jhulu (Jhulan Goswami) di being the first to congratulate me when Mithali (Raj) di awarded me my first ODI cap in Australia.
Remarks
She urged me to make mommy happy and pick up a bunch of wickets. After being asked how she felt about succeeding in Jhulan Goswami, Renuka stated, “Aapke aadhe tak bhi pahunch jaun wahi badi baat hai (If I attain half what you have done, it will be a tremendous achievement).”
There will never be another Jhulan Goswami. Because of her, many females, like me, have taken up cricket. “What she has done for Indian women’s cricket is incredible,” she said.
Even Renuka’s youth coach told this newspaper, “Inswing is her main weapon,” yet Renuka had a lot of difficulties with her inswing when she made the senior team.
I remember being in the ODI World Cup with my squad and finding it quite challenging to bowl inswingers. “After coach (Ramesh Powar) pointed out a couple of technical issues, I worked on my run-up and wrist position, and I got my touch back,” she added.
My next goal is to train to get faster. “It’s something I’m working on,” she continued.
Renuka would face a steep uphill battle trying to catch up to Jhulan’s accomplishments. The seamer still has a long way to go, yet he or she already has all they need to succeed at the very best levels.