Titas Sadhu couldn’t have given herself a better birthday gift — the right-arm bowler took three wickets in just four overs, giving away only six runs, in her second international match (against Sri Lanka), and not only ensured the Indian women's cricket team’s victory but also clinched the Gold medal for cricket in the Asian Games for the country! She achieved the feat four days before her 19th birthday this Friday.
After the heartbreak at last year’s Commonwealth Games and the T20 World Cup semi-final defeat earlier this year, the Indian women’s cricket team have finally laid their hands on the big prize!
The encounter with Sri Lanka was also Harmanpreet Kaur’s 100th game as captain of the T20I Indian women’s squad. She has become only the second woman to captain her nation in 100 T20Is, behind Australia’s Meg Lanning.
“We are feeling great, not only because of the Gold, but also because of Titas’ performance in her debut call for the senior team. She did well and proved the selectors right and her objective as a player was fulfilled. The medal is the icing on the cake,” the young cricketer’s father, Ranadeep Sadhu, himself an athlete, says from Chinsurah, West Bengal.
Asked how they would celebrate Titas’ birthday and the team’s Gold medal, he says, “We don’t have any plans for that. She will be going to various parts of the country with the State team starting on the 30th and has a long, exhausting domestic season ahead.”
Titas scalped MAA Sanjeewani with her first ball in the match, bowled Vishmi Gunaratne for a duck in her first over, and went on to grab captain Chamari Athapatthu’s wicket.
“The second wicket was more impressive as she bowled through the gate,” says Ranadeep who watched the game on his mobile phone. “We always focus on the process rather than on the outcome, which follows automatically when you prepare well and appropriately. We had discussed how to tackle the Sri Lankan captain the previous day — the plan was to bowl at the wickets and not give her room to open up, but she perished early.”
“Titas comes from a sports family. They have a club team and also have a cricket academy. She played with the boys in the academy team from the beginning of her cricket journey and it made her a tough and stronger player,” says Indraneel Chakravarty, BCCI umpire, who hails from the same region.
“Three years back, she played in the district league with the senior boys without disclosing her name. Even when they came to know of it, the opponent club didn’t protest. There was a lot of criticism from the other clubs, but I, as Secretary of the Hooghly District Sports Association, ignored it for the sake of cricket,” he adds.
Chakravarty credits Titas’ father for guiding her and making her a strong person.
“She was good in academics also, scoring 92% in the CBSE board exam but could not appear for the 12th Standard Board exam for two consecutive years,” her father reveals.
“She can bat well – she opens the batting for our academy team; hopefully she will get a chance someday to prove her batting skills,” Ranadeep adds.
Titas’ performance in her debut call for the senior team. She did well and proved the selectors right and her objective as a player was fulfilled. The medal is the icing on the cake.” — Ranadeep Sadhu, father.
Titas comes from a sports family. They have a club team and also have a cricket academy. She played with the boys in the academy team from the beginning of her cricket journey and it made her a tough and stronger player.” — Indraneel Chakravarty, BCCI umpire, who hails from the same region.
