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History was made during the Delhi Capital's brilliant victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore when USA's Tara Norris bagged five wickets to wrap up their opponent's for 163 runs. This is the first fifer of the tournament, but on a more personal note, this is also the first-ever time a women's cricketer from the USA has made her name in a T20 franchise tournament. And what better stage to achieve this feat than the Women's Premier League (WPL).
It was the young and unknown pacer's show in the second innings. She start her rampage with the wicket of the dangerous Ellyse Perry, who was in fine form with her 19-ball 31. A fine straight ball saw Perry charging, which hit the bottom edge and travelled directly to the middle stump.
Disha Kasat (9 off 11) followed but the scalp of Richa Ghosh was the most important for the 24-year-old, dismissing her for just two runs off four balls. Heather Knight shone with both bat and ball, reaching 34 runs in 21 balls but was once again stunned by a brilliant Norris ball as the match slipped away from Bangalore.
Norris is the only Associate cricketer to participate in the inaugural edition of this tournament. She is also the first American player to have played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) or the WPL. That recognition could have gone to Ali Khan when he was selected for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but failed to make an appearance.
Bought by Delhi for Rs 10 lakh in the auction held in February, the pacer was born in America but also has an Italian connection. She spent her childhood in Spain and at the age of eight moved to England.
Norris made her county debut for Sussex here in 2014 when she was 15 years old. She played consistently well for Sussex and participated in tournaments like The Hundred and the Women's Cricket Super League. In September 2021, Tara made her international debut for America.
In fact, the story of her debut is quite interesting!
The organisers of The Hundred wanted her profile in which she wrote that she was born in Philadelphia. American cricket officials took notice of them and called her up to the national team.
On playing in the WPL, Tara said, "It has some world class players and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to train with some of them and hopefully play with some of them as well." I will try to learn as much as possible. Also, I have never been to India before. I will also get to learn about the conditions and weather here.
"I definitely want to make all the associate countries proud. I am representing all these players. Many women players have to struggle for funds and facilities. I want to raise awareness for the associate countries and hope that next year more players will participate," she added.
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