Colombo: India’s young speedster Kranti Gaud, who impressed with her fiery pace, revealed how her insistence on keeping a second slip—despite skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s suggestion to remove it—proved decisive in Aliya Riaz’s dismissal during Sunday’s high-stakes clash against Pakistan at the ongoing Women’s World Cup.
Chasing a challenging 247, India’s bowlers kept Pakistan’s batters in check, restricting their scoring in the powerplay. With runs hard to come by, the Women in Blue waited for the perfect moments to strike. Pakistan crawled to 26/2 after 11 overs, prompting Harmanpreet to tweak the field in search of wickets.
Before the 12th over, Harmanpreet asked Kranti to remove the second slip, but the 22-year-old remained adamant. On the very first ball, Aliya played a reckless shot straight to Deepti Sharma at second slip. Kranti’s subtle smile toward Harmanpreet seemed to say, “I told you so,” as Aliya trudged back after scoring a slow 2(8).
Hailing from Ghuwara in Chhattarpur, Kranti described the excitement in her village and the conversation with her captain before the over.
“Feeling really good to be Player of the Match in a World Cup game. People in my village are so proud—they even set up a big LED screen to watch it. Didi (Harman) suggested removing a slip since the ball had aged, but I asked her to keep it there. And it paid off,” Kranti said during the post-match presentation.
Kranti finished with figures of 3/20, earning the Player of the Match award for a spell that was crucial in India’s commanding 88-run victory. With zip off the pitch, she rattled Pakistan’s top order, dismissing Sadaf Shamas and Aliya Riaz inside the first ten overs, putting the visitors firmly on the back foot.
“The ball was swinging all through, and I honestly didn’t understand it myself! One delivery swung in sharply. When I returned for my second spell, Harman suggested removing the slip, but I felt I could get a wicket and asked to keep it. That’s exactly how Aliya got out. I just had that belief in myself,” Kranti added in the post-match press conference.
Harmanpreet heaped praise on Kranti, especially for her debut World Cup performance. “Very happy, very important game for us all. Our bowling was great. Kranti bowled superbly, Renuka helped create breakthroughs, and though we dropped a few chances, winning makes everyone happy,” she said.
