G Force Tour Diary: Raghvi Bist, a maiden who won over everyone in Dehradun cracking an unbeaten 61 against the boys

By K.R. Nayar

Every bowler must have thought that they could easily bowl a maiden over to Raghvi Bist, but it turned out to be a different story! In the touring G Force Cricket Academy versus Abhimanyu Cricket Academy match in Dehradun, a 18-year-old maiden won over everyone through her spectacular knock after opening the innings for Abhimanyu Cricket Academy and scoring an unbeaten 61 studded with six boundaries and a six against the boys.

 

Raghvi Bist ... a maiden who won over everyone through her skills 

Watching her bat, my first impression was that it must be a boy with long hair. Her timing and the power with which she backed her strokes were immaculate. I was then informed that she was Uttarakhand women’s team’s opener and had once hit a double century. She was spearheading the chase towards G Force’s total of 134 for 6 made by the boys like opener Aditya Darak, who cracked 43, Neil Sidharth’s 23 and Manuj Kapil’s 21. Raghvi tried her best, but her team got restricted to 127 for 7 and lost by seven runs. So dominant was her batting that the next highest score from a batter from her team was just 10 runs.

 

Raghvi Bist returns after cracking an unbeaten 61 

As she walked back to the pavilion clapped all the way by her team-mates, I caught up with her near the boundary and got her to pose with the bat although she had her helmet on then. I then got another picture of her without the helmet after my chat with her. 

 

Although I have had the opportunity to talk to women cricketers, I had never started off discussing their age. But this time I could not resist. She said she was 18 years old but playing for the Uttarakhand senior team too. When I asked her about her double century, she said: “I scored 219 for the Uttarakhand Under 19 team against Nagaland last year.”  Very soon I also learnt that she was the first player from this state and third after Indian woman cricketers Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues to hit a double century in the Women’s Under-19 One-day tournament.

 

Raghvi Bist with G Force Head Coach Gopal Jasapara 

 “I had also scored an unbeaten 168 against Pondicherry in the 2018-19 season,” she added. When I asked her about her ability to play such long innings, she remarked: “I like to play out long and take it deep, and I try and follow it every time I bat.”

 

So how did she get interested in cricket living in a place like Dehradun? “I used to play gully cricket with the boys in my neighbourhood. Later on, I was coached by Rautela sir. From the age of 14, I began to train regularly. Today, I know about the importance of fitness and attend strengthening sessions,” said Raghvi, who has received full support from her parents. “My father is a businessman who lived in Dubai for few  years but now lives in Japan.”

Raghvi Bist... a model of fitness too 

Raghvi is also happy with all the support and expsoure she gets in Dehradun. “The Zonal Cricket Academy camps too have helped me immensely. I want to keep improving,” says Raghvi who is also a right-arm medium pacer. Currently, she is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology through an open University since she wants to focus on training hard.

 

So who is her role model? “Rohit Sharma is my idol and he is an opener too,” said Raghvi, who has many dreams but wants to keep working hard and make a mark through her consistency. She knows that the rest will follow. She has already made everyone take notice of her skills in awe.