Niki Prasad and Sneh Rana show off brave, new power-hitting range

Tuesday's fixture was the perfect exhibition of the improved depth of Indian domestic women's cricket, and a look at how the WPL has helped lift standards.

It made you wonder: had this clarity and conviction existed earlier, might chases like the one in front of a record 86,534 fans at the MCG on the night of the T20 World Cup final in 2020 have unfolded differently?

Even a couple of years ago, an equation that said "60 off 24" would have felt close to impossible. At best, a flurry of boundaries might have reduced the margin of defeat. We wouldn't have expected the belief Niki Prasad and Sneh Rana displayed. That too against Sophie Devine and Ash Gardner, two top-drawer internationals in the women's game. No chance.

Until a year ago, Prasad was trying to make a name in the Under-19 circuit. While she led India to the junior World Cup title, unlike the batch of Richa Ghosh or Shafali Verma - who already had international experience before their Under-19 World Cup win - Prasad didn't get instant recognition, and didn't have the same sort of performances.

In fact, she had struggled in WPL 2025 while trying to break away from being the touch player that she was. The role she had to play - a floater in the lower-middle order - amid a marauding batting line-up, comprising the likes of Shafali, Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp and Annabel Sutherland, needed her to explore her power game, improve her range of shots and, most importantly, the angles.

For all the advancement in coaching and analytics, Indian domestic cricket operates at a level below what you would expect. Where coaches often set fields from the ropes, and batters are taught to take the safe options. This is where the WPL has helped, where players are made accountable to coaches during the off-season, and there are mechanisms to help assess players during the period away.

One of Prasad's areas of focus was to improve her power game. While it may be too early to say there's been a transformation, the effort put in is visible. Not just in her range of strokes and the manner of execution, but the confidence.

Take the four boundaries off four balls she hit off Devine in the 17th over - a clean loft over mid-off, backing away to go inside-out over cover, a deft touch past short third, and making room to scythe a yorker behind point. None of them agricultural, none of them chancy. Quite something for someone who had batted just once previously this season. This wasn't the same Prasad who looked overwhelmed after the rest of Delhi Capitals' (DC) top order had collapsed in last year's final.

Sneh Rana's case is even more fascinating. At 30, she went unsold at last year's auction, and sat at home wondering what she needed to do to improve her T20 game. She hired a trainer, and a facility where she could hit balls uninterrupted, for as long as she liked. Apart from hitting hundreds of balls, she would also bowl for hours.

And then, out of the blue, a late injury call up to RCB changed the course of her career. Needing 43 off 12 against UP Warriorz, she walloped 26 off six balls, taking the most runs off an over in the WPL - Deepti Sharma no less - to take the game into a thrilling final over. RCB lost, but it changed the trajectory of Rana's career.

An India recall came soon after the WPL, followed by her role in India's World Cup triumph, and she was hot property at the auction this time. Tuesday night was a reminder that while Rana is around, no target is too big. The hacks to the leg side, the clean bat swing as she stepped out, the awareness to target the smaller pockets - all on display as she muscled two fours and a six off Gardner to begin the 19th over.

As a follower of Indian cricket, you hoped this wouldn't end in defeat, which it eventually did when Prasad failed to hit the four DC needed off the final ball. But the refreshing aspect, that Prasad revealed afterwards, was the unwavering belief.

"The minute I walked in, I knew that we're going to cross the line and win," Prasad said. "That one over of Sophie Devine where we got a couple of boundaries [she hit four of them], from there on we spoke [about] going to keep momentum going and keep getting boundaries.

"Disappointed I couldn't cross the line, but it's learning for me. I'm going to go back, train a little harder and next time when I'm put in a similar situation, I'm going to cross the line."

The confidence. Prasad was a winner. Rana was a winner. Even on a night when their team lost heartbreakingly. The solace: at least DC are still alive and have one final shot at making the playoffs.