Happy Birthday, Renuka Singh – The Himachali Express who left England in ruins

When Jhulan Goswami stepped down from international cricket, the Indian women’s cricket team was in dire need of a vanguard to spearhead the fast-bowling unit. The likes of Pooja Vastrakar certainly did the rounds but then she was not really spewing venom with the new ball in her hands.

Bowling with the new ball is an art that needs some rigorous training yards to master. Not only because of its unpredictable movement but also the kind of control that you will need to kiss the deck hard enough and maneuver it as per your wish, bowling with the new ball needs an artist.

Steaming in at 120 odd kays regularly, the Himachali Express arrived at the forefront of the entire show, hoping to carry forth a legacy that needed nerves of steel and persistence forged in a different dimension.

Braving the fire of baptism, Renuka’s promise seemed to be growing with every passing day. As they say you know the true caliber of a champion when you throw her at the deep end, similarly, when Renuka was sent hurling into the mix of grander things, she came out flying.

As we celebrate her 28th birthday, here is a small glimpse at how she destroyed the experienced English batting line-up in the preceding edition of the T20 World Cup only for India to fall short in the dying embers of the game.

At Gqeberha was a heaving mass of the fans savouring their day out, England’s star-studded batting unit was optimistic of a positive start. However, they were jolted to a rude awakening as Renuka Singh dished out an impeccable delivery that was slightly outside off-stump and had the initial impression of charging straight at the timbre, forcing a reluctant shot from Dani Wyatt.

The beauty of bowling with the new ball is that you can always eke out some late wobble and that was exactly the case that proved to be the unravelling of Wyatt with Richa Ghosh bagging a comfortable take. Only if the world knew that this was just the first note of what was going to be a symphony of doom at the global stage.

If Wyatt’s scalp was just a hint of the menace posed by Renuka with the new ball, Alice Capsey fell victim to the lethal swing that saw the Himachali Express landing the ball outside the off-stump which nipped back in sharply to hit the top of off, a juncture that is dotingly known as the paradise for any fast bowler.

Sophia Dunkley became the third victim to this vicious swing of Renuka as her attempt to make room for herself while exposing the timbre backfired with her leg-stump sent flying.

They say that you always save the best for the last and while Amy Jones kept on hacking away at the Indian bowlers at heart’s content, it was the Indian express quick who forced to cram Jones into an awkward execution of a shot, bagging her wicket in the process with Richa Ghosh claiming another sitter.

She finished things off with the wicket of Katherine Brunt, whose attempt to hoick Renuka over long-on found Radha Yadav stationed there waiting for that exact shot to meet its match. The entire congregation present at the stadium stood up and applauded the sensation that India had unleashed upon the world and the rest, as they say, is history.

We at the Royal Challengers Bangalore wish Renuka Singh a very happy birthday.