Hemalatha flaunts her hitting credentials in comeback cameo

There's an air of confidence around D Hemalatha of late. The allrounder had had to wait for more than 18 months before stepping into international cricket again. But when she finally got the opportunity to do that on Tuesday, against Bangladesh in the rain-hit second T20I, she ensured she made a case for herself with a blistering 41 not out off 24 balls. It came in an India innings of 47 for 1 in a curtailed chase lasting just 5.2 overs.

It feels like a long time ago when Hemalatha made her T20I debut as a 23-year-old in 2018, at the T20 World Cup (then called the World T20) in the Caribbean. For someone who had shown so much potential at the domestic level for Tamil Nadu and Railways, Hemalatha had found it hard to translate it into runs in international cricket. Before her comeback game, she had played 15 T20Is and had scored a total of just 90 runs, shuttling between No.3 and 7 in the batting line-up with the highest score of 20.

In those 15 games, she had come in at No.3 only twice, in 2022, and notched up 10 off 15 and 9 off 10 against England. This was a time when Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues were not part of India's squad. In this series against Bangladesh, with Rodrigues out with a back niggle, the left-handed Yastika was India's first-choice No.3. Yastika top-scored for India with 36 in the series-opener but had to miss the second game with a niggle. That's when the stars aligned for Hemalatha.

"Feeling great, playing for India and giving some contribution from my side," Hemalatha would say after taking away the Player-of-the-Match award.

At 29, she forced her way back into the India squad on the back of impressive performances in the domestic circuit and the WPL. In the senior women's T20 trophy in October, Hemalatha scored 199 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 130.06 while batting at No.4 for Railways. This included an unbeaten 98 off 61 against Jharkhand, including 11 fours and five sixes. Her ability to negotiate spin and score quickly was on display for Gujarat Giants in WPL 2024 as well. After playing four matches in the middle order, the Chennai-born allrounder was promoted to No.3 against Mumbai Indians. The result: 74 off 40 at a strike rate of 185.

It was this big-hitting ability that took India over the line in Sylhet to go 2-0 up in the five-match series. After India had bowled Bangladesh out for 119 in overcast conditions, Hemalatha was out on the field for the third ball of the chase with Shafali Verma caught behind for 0. She scored four off her first seven balls, before dancing down the track and lofting offspinner Sultana Khartun high over the cow corner fence, bringing up the first six of the match. She then struck three fours off seamer Marufa Akther and left-arm pacer Fariha Trisna - a drive through backward point, a powerful cut, and a lofted shot straight over the bowler's head.

This was before she muscled left-arm spinner Nahida Akhter for a six over long-on and a four through the covers. Marufa came back to bowl the final over of the powerplay, and off the last ball before it started raining again, Hemalatha pierced the gap between extra cover and mid-off with a pleasing drive. In all, she hit five fours and two sixes.

India were 19 runs ahead on the DLS calculations when the match was abandoned. At the post-match press conference, Hemalatha - usually a person of few words in media interactions - revealed that she was practising with the new ball at the WPL and that had given her the confidence to bat in the top order for India.

"It's really amazing. It always feels amazing when you are playing for your country," she said. "In the domestic [circuit], I used to play at No. 4 and 5 in the [batting] order. When I came to GG [Gujarat Giants], I was playing at No.3. For that, I started playing with the new ball in WPL, and it has worked for me here also because I was confident playing against the new ball. We were planning to play just according to our strengths, it was a run-a-ball game, 120 was chaseable. We didn't plan that much."

Rain might have robbed Hemalatha of a big innings, but it was a day to remember, nonetheless. Whether India persist with her when Yastika returns to full fitness is something to look at. But if she keeps firing like this when the management throws opportunities at her, and with four months to go for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, India will have a happy headache fitting in Rodrigues, Yastika and Hemalatha.