Women’s Asia Cup Final | Twitter reacts as Richa Ghosh turns into prime MS Dhoni to save freakishly low ball
Wicket-keeping is an underrated skill in cricket and it can take players decades to master the art. Indian prodigy Richa Ghosh seems to already be on the path to greatness, as she proved with a breathtaking save using her extended leg after a ball stayed extremely low, much like MS Dhoni of yore.
India are firmly on top in the Women’s Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka on Saturday, restricting them to a paltry 65/9 in their 20 overs. A major contributing factor to the Lionesses’ dismal batting performance was the condition of the pitch in play at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Extremely dry and dusty, the ball was spinning to no ends and randomly stayed low on several instances during the match.
Even in the difficult conditions, an incident in the 12th over during Sri Lanka’s innings helped showcase Richa Ghosh’s incredible skills with the gloves. The fourth ball of that over, bowled by Rajeshwari Gayakwad, was pitched at good length around the leg stump. Preparing a pull, Ranasinghe was in for a shock as the ball hardly rose over her feet while spinning viciously down the leg side. In fact, it bounced twice on the pitch and seemed destined to run away for four, only if not for Ghosh’s intervention.
Ghosh, aged 19, was already moving towards leg as the ball approached her and then extended her right leg to the utmost, almost reaching the edge of the pitch. It innocuously struck the instep of her feet and limited the damage to just a wide, effectively saving the team four runs. The internet was quick to draw comparisons with MS Dhoni and his trademark saves with a trailing leg, taking to social media to express their appreciation for Richa Ghosh.
Cracks Exposed
— Richard (@Richard10719932) October 15, 2022
Turn that!
what turn from gayakwad 😱 #INDvSL #AsiaCup2022
— smriti mandhana's cover drive (@sm18ton) October 15, 2022
Beautiful.
Indian womens team you beauty💥🤩💥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 #womensasiacupfinal2022 #indvssl
— Bhargav (@Bhargav76605307) October 15, 2022
Half century at least
@daniel86cricket praying to God that Shitlankan womens team atleast cross 36🤣😂😂😂😂#WomensAsiaCup2022 #AsiaCup2022Final #INDvsSL
— Anant Gawade (@Veermaratha1947) October 15, 2022
Asia queens
Indian women ruling the whole aisa#AsiaCup2022Final #teamindia #Indvssl#INDWvsSLW
— Shiv (@Shivay__021) October 15, 2022
Fixed!
What a great match fixing by both the teams👏👏#WomensAsiaCup2022 #Final#INDvsSL
— Mahi (@kexo654) October 15, 2022
That's playing with fire!
Indian women's on fire. #WomenAsiaCup @BCCIWomen splendid performance by Renuka and Gayakwad.
— Shekher (@Marwarimaanus) October 15, 2022
Spiny spiny!
💪🏏 SPINNING A WEB! Rajeshwari Gayakwad bowled a gem of a spell today.
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) October 15, 2022
👏 She bagged the wickets of de Silva & Ranasinghe!
📸 ACC • #RajeshwariGayakwad #INDvSL #SLWvINDW #WomensAsiaCup #AsiaCup2022 #TeamIndia #BharatArmy pic.twitter.com/VmJouInVcC
Oops!
World cup chhoro Ind vs SL dekho 😭😭
— The wrong person (@iprathmeshs) October 15, 2022
Let them score a bit.
SL going to score half century. Worst bowling by Indian bowlers #AsiaCup #IndvsSL
— Divagar (@divagar90) October 15, 2022
Want Ind vs Pak!
What a joke man! India vs Pakistan would've been so much better. Lankans are having a bad day on field.#INDvsSL
— Ariha Fatimah (@arihafatimah) October 15, 2022