Fresh from securing a lucrative contract in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL), Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma entered her name into the history books during the recently concluded T20I match between India and West Indies at the ICC Women's World Cup on Wednesday. Leading the bowling attack of Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. in their second Group B match of the T20 World Cup, off-spinner Deepti sparked a batting collapse of the Women from the Caribbean at the Newlands in Cape Town.
Deepti bagged the crucial wickets of Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle before handing Afy Fletcher a golden duck as West Indies were restricted to a below-par total by the Women In Blue in match No.9 of the T20 World Cup. Deepti leaked only 15 runs and bagged 3 wickets in her 4 overs. Emerging as the pick of the bowlers for the Women In Blue, Deepti achieved a historic feat in world cricket. The star all-rounder is the first Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in the shortest format of the game.
The in-form off-spinner got the better Fletcher to script history in international cricket. Deepti has upstaged the likes of Poonam Yadav (98), Radha Yadav (67), Rajeshwari Gayakwad (58), Jhulan Goswami (56) and Ekta Bisht (53) to achieve the historic feat in the shortest format. India's Yuzvendra Chahal holds the record for taking the most number of wickets by a male cricketer in the T20I format. Spinner Chahal has taken 91 wickets for the Men In Blue.
{{/usCountry}}The in-form off-spinner got the better Fletcher to script history in international cricket. Deepti has upstaged the likes of Poonam Yadav (98), Radha Yadav (67), Rajeshwari Gayakwad (58), Jhulan Goswami (56) and Ekta Bisht (53) to achieve the historic feat in the shortest format. India's Yuzvendra Chahal holds the record for taking the most number of wickets by a male cricketer in the T20I format. Spinner Chahal has taken 91 wickets for the Men In Blue.
{{/usCountry}}Talking more about the match, India's Richa Ghosh (44) and Harmanpreet Kaur (33) top-scored for the Women In Blue as the Deepti-inspired side outclassed the West Indies by 6 wickets. Indian all-rounder Deepti, who will play for UP Warriorz in the WPL 2023, was named the Player of the Match. All-rounder Deepti was roped in by UP Warriorz for ₹2.6 crore at the WPL auction.
"I feel good. What we discussed in the meeting and the plans I had against the West Indies batters, we were able to apply that in the middle. That is a milestone and I am happy with the achievement (first Indian to 100 T20I wickets). I am focusing on the rest of the World Cup games. There is a bit of turn in this surface and I focus on bowling stump to stump," Deepti said after the match.