WPL 2023: Experience and love will stay with me for a long time – Sophie Devine revels after stormy knock

By
chasing
an
imposing
189
against
Gujarat
Titans
at
the
Brabourne
Stadium,
the
Bangalore
franchise
registered
the
highest
successful
chase
in
the
major
women’s
T20
leagues.

The
chief
engineer
of
this
marvellous
feat
was
Devine.
Her
36-ball
99
(8×6,
9×4)
became
the
highest
score
of
the
inaugural
edition
of

TATA
WPL.

For
the
record,
this
was
the
third
time
Devine
scored
a
99
in
a
T20
match.
Twice
she
has
remained
unbeaten
on
99.
In
2010,
playing
for
Wellington
Women
against
Northern
Districts
and
nine
years
later
for
Adelaide
Strikers
against
Hobart
Hurricanes.

If
Devine
would
have
scored
a
century
against
Giants,
she
would
have
equalled
her
own
record
of
the
fastest
century
in
women’s
T20s
–
off
36
balls
in
the
Super
Smash
2020-21.

“There
are
few
people
who
can
do
what
she
did
tonight,
but
she’s
been
doing
it
consistently
for
years
and
what
she
did
tonight
was
special,”
Ellyse
Perry
told
Sports18
and
JioCinema
after
the
match.

“To
be
fair,
that
last
shot
where
she
got
out
typifies
Sophie.
It’s
not
about
runs
for
her
but
playing
for
the
team.”

Captain
Smriti
Mandhana
couldn’t
stop
raving
about
Devine’s
daredevilry.
“My
job
was
just
to
get
a
single
and
get
Sophie
on
strike.
A
few
of
the
sixes
were
really
massive,”
said
Mandhana
in
the
post-match
presentation.

In
the
ninth
over
from
Tanuja
Kanwar,
Devine
deposited
the
ball
into
the
second
tier
of
the
stadium
via
a
94-metre
long
hoick.

Devine
obviously
loved
it
and
remembered
that
as
her
favourite
shot
of
the
match.
“I
think
the
one
I
got
up
there
[into
the
second
tier]
I
was
pretty
happy
with.”
But
Devine
was
circumspect
about
how
she
got
around
the
blockbuster
of
an
inning.

“Cricket
can
be
so
fickle.
I’ve
been
struggling
for
six
to
nine
months,
if
I
have
to
be
completely
honest.
To
have
some
freedom
on
these
wickets
was
good,”
she
said
to
Sports18
and
JioCinema.

Even
after
getting
out
on
99,
the
crowd
was
on
their
feet,
much
like
the
entire
RCB
dugout
doffing
their
hat
to
the
exhibition
they
witnessed.

She
walked
back
to
the
dressing
room
with
every
corner
of
the
stadium
chanting
her
name
loud
and
clear.
Devine
was
appreciative
of
the
love.

“I’m
so
used
to
hearing
chants
for
Perry
and
Mandhana,
and
was
feeling
a
bit
left
out,”
Devine
giggled.
“To
hear
your
name
and
experience
this
atmosphere,
it
will
stay
with
me
for
a
very
long
time.”