Kolkata: Who is Sneh Rana? Before 2021, Rana’s last international appearance came five years back when she last donned the Indian colours at the international stage. From January 2014 to February 2016, Rana international career boasted 12 matches — seven ODIs and five T20Is.
What transpired in between was Rana’s consistent performances at the domestic level, determination and the strong urge to do well at the international circuit once again on English soil. She did, and that too against some of the big names in the world, both with bat and ball.
At a time when Indian women were starring at defeat on the last day of the one-off Test match in Bristol last week, the debutant stood like a pillar in between with a gritty unbeaten knock of 80 off 170 balls. Not only she saved India the blushes but frustrated the English bowlers with a ninth wicket with Taniya Bhatia (44*) helping India to a draw.
Earlier, Rana starred with the ball with 4/131 in her 39.2 overs during England’s first innings. Rana also became the first Indian woman and fourth overall to score a half-century and take a 4-wicket haul on debut.
That was some batting from Sneh Rana & Taniya Bhatia who showed resilience to help #TeamIndia secure a draw🔝
Top-notch effort from 🇮🇳.👏🏻 #ENGvIND
Sneh Rana – 8️⃣0️⃣*
Taniya Bhatia – 4️⃣4️⃣*
Their partnership 🤝🏻 – 1️⃣0️⃣4️⃣*OUTSTANDING 👌🏻💪🏻
Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/Em31vo4nWB pic.twitter.com/oHYcqciFAM
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 19, 2021
Born and brought up in Sinola village, 20km from Dehradun, a young Rana was always drawn towards outdoor sports and tried her hand at everything from badminton to cricket. Before her U-14 days, she was first spotted by Kiran Sah, a cricket coach at the Little Masters Cricket Academy in Dehradun.
Back then she was a swing bowler. After watching her skills in a match, her coach Narendra Sah advised her to work on her to bowl off-spin. “She was hesitant about it. Sir, I always wanted to be a fast bowler. I told her to just give it a try. In the next match, she bowled her off-cutters from a short run-up, and she extracted a lot of turn and bounce,” recalled Sah.
Rana kept climbing the ladder in the domestic circuit and went on to make her much-awaited India debut in 2014. She was one of the five Indian debutants last week against England. “It was a pleasant surprise to see Sneh making her Test debut for India. I was not expecting it. I thought she might get to play in the ODIs and T20Is,” added Rana’s coach.
Rana also played a pivotal role in the Mithali Raj-led Railways’ title triumph in the Senior One-day Trophy. Her allround performances in the domestic 50-over competition this year, picking 18 wickets and scoring 160 runs caught the selectors’ eye.
This is a senior player who has done the hard yards at the domestic level, knows her game inside out, is happy with where she is at and is finding ways to succeed at the top level.
It's not always about finding the next big thing. #ENGvIND #SnehRana pic.twitter.com/pkOUfmxzCR— Ananya Upendran (@a_upendran11) June 19, 2021
However, her life hasn’t gone as smoothly as her glorious debut against England. Two months ago, Rana’s father Bhagwan Singh, 61, who played an instrumental role supporting her journey as an international cricketer, passed away after a heart attack. Rana paid a heartfelt homage by dedicated her team India comeback to her late father.
All-rounder Sneh Rana dedicates her #TeamIndia comeback to her late father. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/PHl4XHkjZT
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 16, 2021
“I lost my father two months back. When this team was announced. I lost him. It was a bit difficult, it was an emotional moment. Because he wanted to see me play again for India. But unfortunately, he can’t. It’s okay, it is part of life, but whatever I did after that and whatever I will do now, I will dedicate everything to him,” Rana said during a press conference.
