The duo shared six wickets between each other by conceding just 26 runs, ensuring that Royal Challengers Bangalore lifted their maiden Women's Premier League trophy on Sunday
Shreyanka Patil of Royal Challengers Bangalore celebrates the wicket of Meg Lanning (c) of Delhi Capitals during the WIPL match between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers at Arun Jaitley Stadium on March 10, 2024 in Delhi, India. Image: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images
Delhi Capitals were 64-0 in seven overs after opting to bat first in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) final on Sunday. Things were completely going their way and it seemed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were in for a big chase. But they ended up with a meagre total of 113 runs. So, what happened in between?
The most precise answer would be Shreyanka Patil and Asha Sobhana. Before the duo spun their web around Delhi batters, Sophie Molineux had changed the momentum with a three-wicket haul. Patil, the off-spinner, and Sobhana, the leg-spinner, teamed up perfectly to run through the rest of the Delhi batting line-up. The duo shared six wickets between each other by conceding just 26 runs, ensuring RCB lifted their maiden WPL trophy.
It was not the first time these two young spinners steered RCB to victory, but they were instrumental with the ball for the team throughout WPL 2024. They were drafted in by the franchise last year and have since grown manifold.
Born in Karnataka, Patil was introduced to cricket at an early age as her father Rajesh Patil runs a cricket academy in the state. She initially tried various things before finally realising off-spin is her art. Her journey to professional cricket began when she made it to the Karnataka U-16 Women’s team.
Unlike most women cricketers in India, Patil's family was quite supportive of her passion because of their sports background. Her hunger to make it big though was something that made her elevate the talent further. She would spend hours practicing and bowling hundreds of balls daily.