Fitter, stronger, quicker Renuka produces dreamy spell against the best

In India's first outing at a global event in the post Jhulan Goswami-era, Renuka Singh, 26, displayed all the qualities that India thought they would miss with the new ball. Swing, seam, accuracy, large heart - all check.

The four Australia batters she nipped out weren't ordinary wickets. They were of world beaters who repeatedly make a mockery of bowling attacks the world over.

Alyssa Healy: one of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball in the women's game. Beth Mooney: one of the most versatile batters. Meg Lanning: owner of the most ferocious cut. Tahlia McGrath: among the best young talents in the game currently.

It was meant to be a trial by spin, but Australia's top order was undone by seam, quite spectacularly by a rookie, all of seven games old in T20Is, by simply sticking to the very basics coaches impress upon. Of bowling to your strengths, being accurate and allowing the surface to do the rest.

Healy was out nibbling at a delivery she could have either left alone or cut. Mooney played down the wrong line. Lanning was in two minds of trying to bring out her trademark cut as against just steering the ball, only to be caught at point. McGrath didn't perhaps know that inswing is Renuka's most potent delivery, as one that hit the perfect seam came back in wickedly to beat the inside edge and flatten leg stump.

Her new-ball burst was the stuff dreams are made of. Last year, Renuka had burst through against the same team in Australia. Back then, she was slightly slower on pace, giving batters the time to make adjustments against her. Between last October and now, Renuka has worked on becoming fitter, stronger and has added a couple more yards of pace.

Prior to the Commonwealth Games, India had a two 10-day camps intercepted by the Sri Lanka tour, where she picked up seven wickets in three ODIs, including a career-best 4 for 28. It was intensive, with a set agenda daily. The fast bowlers were divided into different groups.

Each group was put under a dedicated trainer, who logged in their workload, their bowling speeds, their spells. A dietician worked through their food charts; every gram consumed had been meticulously charted. Every evening's recovery sessions were planned to the T.

Then there were simulations, practice and video analysis aimed at analysing every session. This extra emphasis on developing a young fast bowling group has been in the works for two years, from when WV Raman took over as head coach in 2019.

"I've been working on my fitness for the past month," Renuka said after her T20I career-best 4 for 18. "We had a dedicated fitness camp, and I've worked on speed, agility and endurance; I'm a fast bowler so those are really important skills. That has helped me a lot. I try and hit hard lengths, so that you can get help from the pitch. That has worked for me. I'm predominantly a swing bowler. The more I swing the ball, that much more help I'll get."

Renuka hails from Himachal Pradesh, a state known for its hilly terrains and adventure sport. Until 2008, there was not a single academy in the state dedicated for girls. That changed after Anurag Thakur, the former BCCI president, developed a state-of-the-art facility in Dharamsala the following year.

At 15, Renuka, who was at an age where she had to decide between pursuing academics or trying her hand at sport, was among the first batch of trainees of the academy. At 17, she had broken through into the HP senior team.

Now, HP is far from a champion team in the women's circuit. Ask most players, and you'll hear them speak of how landing a Railways gig is their ultimate aim. It offers them a competitive environment apart from guaranteeing several perks, like paid leaves, government accommodation, a pension scheme, a monthly salary and training equipment.

Renuka too had a similar dream, one that came true in 2021 when she got a job in the Railways. Within eight months of her playing in the set-up, she made her T20I debut in Australia last year, and has since become a regular member of the Indian team.

The debut came on the back of an impressive Senior One Day Trophy, where Renuka picked up nine wickets in five games. But it wasn't until she picked up four wickets in her first spell against Karnataka in the final, like she did against Australia, that word spread of this seamer having excellent control and the skillsets India had been on the lookout for.

If the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand gave Renuka an opportunity to be an apprentice under Goswami, the safety jacket has come off at the CWG as India gear up to live without their longest-serving fast bowler. The start has been promising, and India will hope Renuka continues to thrive.