Ritu Singh has spent much of her childhood attempting to make a cricket ball spin on concrete, so it’s no surprise that she’s seized the opportunity to bowl on the dry pitches of Malaysia.
The USA all-rounder delivered an exceptional performance at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, capturing five wickets for just 15 runs in the Super Six match against New Zealand.
She exploited the favorable conditions for slow bowling, claiming early wickets after New Zealand’s openers had raced out of the blocks.
After securing three wickets in her initial spell, she returned to claim her fifth, contributing significantly to bowling New Zealand out for a mere 97 runs.
The American team’s attempt to chase down the target fell just short, despite having triumphed over New Zealand in a warm-up match prior to the tournament, but Singh left no stone unturned in trying to replicate that success.
She remarked: “The plan was just to stick to what my process is and control the basics, trust my team and trust my field and do my best.”
“At home, it’s really hard to get turn on concrete so when I come here, the turn I get is phenomenal. I’m really proud of myself and proud of my team for adjusting to the conditions.”
“It’s surreal; this moment is not the result I wanted, but I think it was a complete team effort, everyone did their part. I want to wish New Zealand congratulations.”
Raised in Missouri, Singh was introduced to cricket by her father Ranjeet, who initiated a youth program in the community.
She quickly advanced through the ranks and has become an essential player for the USA, making her senior international debut at the young age of 16 back in 2022.
It may come as a surprise that her role models are MS Dhoni, Chris Gayle, and Suryakumar Yadav, mainly because she identifies more as a batting all-rounder, despite her outstanding bowling display against New Zealand.
For captain Anika Kolan, Singh is a tremendous asset to the team, and she knew exactly who to rely on after the USA got off to a sluggish start by bowling first in Kuala Lumpur.
She stated: “Ritu has a past history of comebacks, and the way she steps up for the team is phenomenal. So I knew that when we didn’t get the start we wanted, the first person I would turn to was Ritu, and she would execute it the way the team needed.”
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