Emotional Sneh Rana Dedicates Her Test Debut Performance To Her Late Father

Indian women’s cricketer Sneh Rana had a Test debut to remember as she helped the tourists fight back on the first day of the one-off red-ball match between England and India in Bristol. England had their noses up in front, with skipper Heather Knight scoring 95; however, they finished the day at 269-6. Sneh Rana, who dismissed three batters and ended the day as the pick of the bowlers, dedicated the performance to her late father.

Sneh Rana delivered the key breakthrough of Tammy Beaumont in the 49th over, who scored 66 while opening the innings. The off-spinner struck two more times late in the day to tilt the scales slightly into India’s favour. Rana got rid of Amy Jones and Georgia Elwiss for single-figure scores, finishing with figures of 29-4-77-3. Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar also picked up three wickets between them, with the former accounting for two.

Sneh Rana revealed speaking to the captain and coach daily about the strategies and how to bowl in a Test since it was the first time she was playing in the format. The 27-year old underlined that her father wanted to see her play; however, he passed away shortly before she was named in the team. Rana stated that it’s an emotional moment and want to dedicate everything to him moving forward.

“In the practise sessions, we used to speak to the captain and coach on what to do, how to bowl, what needs to be done. I was playing for the first time in a Test, where the scenario is a bit different from one-days and T20s, so we used to speak daily about it. I lost my father two months back. When this team was announced, a little before that, I lost him. It was a bit difficult, it was an emotional moment because he wanted to see me play again for India. But unfortunately, he can’t. It’s okay, it is part of life, but whatever I did after that and whatever I will do now, I will dedicate everything to him,” Rana stated in a virtual press conference.

I think it will remain the same tomorrow: Sneh Rana

Sneh Rana also pointed out that the pitch is on the slower side and it started assisting spinners early on. However, the Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer feels it’s a perfect pitch to bat on and should remain the same on the second day.

“The pitch was a little slow at the early stage, but it helped the spinners, because it was turning a bit from starting only. It’s a perfect wicket to bat on. I think it will remain the same tomorrow,” she added.

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