Years ago in Uttar Pradesh, Meghna Singh burnt the midnight oil, just to ensure that she fed herself a staple diet of cricket. Like countless youngsters in the country, she too dreamt of representing India and winning games of cricket.
If reports are to be believed, she traveled more than 24 kilometers each day, hoping that her dedication would, at some point, pay rich dividends – both for her and her supportive family.
That pursuit, though, had its fair share of ebbs and flows, meaning that it wasn’t until September 2021 that she donned the blue and became a pivotal part of the Indian women’s cricket team. And when she did, she didn’t look out of place.
If anything, it felt as if the Women In Blue had found a cricketer capable of ticking most boxes and contributing significantly to their World Cup adventure.
Meghna’s first international game was against Australia at Mackay on 21 September 2021. In her debut match, she bowled excellently and kept a lid on the scoring rate too. She finished with figures of 6-0-27-0, which considering the power-packed Australian unit she was facing, was an achievement in itself.
A fixture later, she was at it again. This time, she sent down nine overs, accounted for one batter and only conceded 38 runs. Her biggest splash, though, was reserved for the pink-ball Test — an encounter where she swung the ball prodigiously and caused Australia all sorts of problems.
Meghna, who bowls at a lively pace, has the ability to swing the ball away from the right-handed batters. She also bowls a good length – something that entices batters to go for strokes they ordinarily wouldn’t. That, by the way, could also be a potent wicket-taking option in New Zealand, considering the pitches might aid fast bowling.
Apart from that, Meghna is a pretty useful batter. She can hold together an innings in the lower order and can increase the tempo too. Her performances in the Senior Women’s One Day Challenger Trophy were illustrative of it.
The biggest positive, though, is that she knows how to handle pressure. Long before she had played for India, she was busy battling life and bending it to her liking. Even then, she never complained and tried everything at her disposal to get to where she wanted to be — playing for India at a Women’s World Cup.
Now that she has gotten that opportunity, she would be itching to leave a substantial imprint. Her selection in the playing eleven isn’t guaranteed, considering India have a few other alternatives. But if she is included, she can perform a similar role to that of Shikha Pandey (who is not in the team).
A lot of it, at present, is conjecture. What is certain, though, is she has deserved every bit of recognition she has received in the past few months. Some of it might not have sunk it yet either. But she, courtesy of the toil early in her career, knows how to put it aside and focus on the task at hand.
And in a tournament where emotions can get the better of cricketers, that could be the decisive tilting scale between an exasperating defeat and a thrilling victory.
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