Anyone thinking why it is said that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties was reminded of the powerful wisdom resting in the statement upon reading the score-sheets between Nepal Women vs Maldives Women, in the South Asian Games 2019.
Nepal’s Anjali Chanda may not have a thousand wallpapers floating around over the Internet stratosphere. In the firmament of women’s cricket- a powerful force- that is rising all the time- she may not be the most familiar face.
Many may not exactly or immediately recognize the all-round cricketer from Nepal’s Women’s team. In fact, for many among us, it might not even occur whether Nepal’s Anjali Chanda is a spin bowler or a medium pacer.
But from today, and for times to come, Nepal’s Anjali Chanda will no longer need flowery adjectives or impeccable word-throwing to be recognized.
For Nepal’s Anjali Chanda holds a world record that inspires envy. And it shall for the times to come.
It’s a record that’s as unbelievable as it is thrilling.
T20 Cricket is exhilarating. T20 Cricket is also a whole lot of fun. And at the end of the day, T20 cricket is largely responsible for changing the way one looks at the modern structure of the sport today.
But in a format that is often hailed and equally bashed for favoring batsmen, how refreshing is it when a bowler has a say?
Moreover, how thrilling when the bowler constitutes a rising cricketing force in the women’s game.
Nepal’s Anjali Chanda became the first-ever cricketer, male or female, to emerge with figures that would draw envy from the modern greats and would draw praise from the past champions in the game.
Nepal’s Anjali Chand took 6 wickets in a T20 contest without conceding a single run. These, without a doubt, are the best bowling performances in a Women’s T20 international game.
At the 13th South Asian games, all that Nepal required at the back of Anjali Chanda’s mind-bogglingly surprising figures was a less than modest ask of 17.
Nepal’s Anjali Chanda, who, it may not be incorrect to say has shot to the world’s attention for her ground-breaking feat ensured that Nepal hardly had to worry about chasing a total that most wouldn’t even bother much about.
Batting first, Maldives were dismissed for 16. But what was rather surprising was the fact that 8 of their batswomen returned without opening their account. Only 2 reached single-digit scores.
In return, Nepal’s Women’s team completed the formality using the brute force of the bat, finishing the game inside the very first over of their batting inning.
But implicit in Anjali Chanda’s world record T20 spell was the fact that she didn’t concede a single run from the 2.1 overs she bowled.
At a time where batsmen are often dominating the charts in the game’s briefest format, that Nepal’s Anjali Chanda- not a household name in the sport; something that should hopefully change in the context of the game given her world-record- augurs well for the popularity of the sport.
Moreover, it is the kind of feat that shall inspire many to gravitate toward the force that is women’s cricket.
