In a low-scoring second T20I encounter on January 7, 19-year-old Shreyanka Patil was tasked to put pressure on Ellyse Perry and Phoebe Litchfield in the penultimate over. Australia needed 15 runs from the last two overs and the two batters targetted the off-spinner. Patil leaked 17 runs as Australia won the game with an over to spare. In the post-match presentation, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that the score wasn’t enough but also pointed out that had Shreyanka would have been on target, things would have been different.
“We were getting those opportunities, we were taking wickets and that's a positive. In the 19th over, if Shreyanka was on target, it would have made a huge difference for us,” she said.
The comments did not go down well with the former Indian pacer as he wrote on X: “Throwing a 19yo kid under the bus is not done.”
In her previous over, Patil had got the wicket of Tahlia McGrath. However, she started with a full toss delivery that was hit by Litchfield for a boundary. She used the pace provided by Shreyanka and scored six more runs off the next two deliveries. On the last ball of the over, Perry smashed it for a six to finish the game in style and level the series 1-1.
She ended up conceding 40 runs from her quota of four overs. She turned out to be the most expensive bowler in the match.
On the other hand, Harmanpreet's struggle with the bat continued. She managed to score just six runs from 12 deliveries before losing her wicket to Ashleigh Gardner.
Shreyanka was impressive in the first T20I of the series. She conceded 19 runs from 3.2 overs and got the wickets of Grace Harris and Georgia Wareham. She helped India bowl out Australia for 141.
So far, she has played five T20Is. The Karnataka-born all-rounder has eight wickets at an average of 16. Her economy rate is 8.17 runs per over and her best bowling figures were three wickets for 19 runs which came against England last year.
Shreyanka will have a chance to prove her mettle as India and Australia lock horns in the decider on January 9.
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