Richa Ghosh’s heartbreak — of lone wolves, fine margins and the power of the pack

She was the oddson favourite among the press corps covering the match to pull off a heist the way Harmanpreet did the night before, but alas, sport giveth and sport taketh in equal measure

How do you console a player who fought tooth and nail to get her team to a win only to fall short by a run? What are the right words? The few seconds of silence from Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Luke Williams as he lauded Richa Ghosh’s efforts in the debrief after a crushing onerun loss to Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Sunday said it all.

After Harmanpreet Kaur’s storm of an innings against Gujarat Giants, an interesting conversation ensued among journalists walking out of the Feroz Shah Kotla premises a day prior. “Barring Harmanpreet, who can pull off a heist like this?” rang the motion. Richa was the unanimous choice and what an ending it would have been to that script if she had pulled it off against one of the best sides in the league in a match where her team needed a win to secure its survival. Alas! Sport giveth and sport taketh away in equal measure.

Crestfallen

When Shafali Verma and Jess Jonassen pulled off that run out off the very last ball, Richa and Shreyanka Patil at the other end froze, not knowing how to process what had just happened. Shreyanka, squatting at the striker’s end, had her face buried in her palms while Richa, was flat on the ground after a dive that went in vain, perhaps hoping for the ground to swallow her whole. The world went on around them; DC players shook the umpires hands, broadcast teams brought out their standees for player interviews, the postmatch presentation space was set up and groundsmen came on to begin their duties for the day. But these two stood still.

Alice Capsey walked up to Shreyanka, who sobbed herself into a ball, while Jemimah sat down with Richa, comforting her India teammate. She was joined by Meg Lanning who gave Richa a few pats on the head. From a competitor as fierce as her and one who is not verbose in praise or brickbats, this is as good as it comes. But nothing would unshatter the pair. Needing 17 off the last over, a cramping Richa and Disha Kasat had a mountain to climb mentally. Lanning turned to her trusted soldier Jonassen who, for years, has struck fears in opponents across the world with her ability to dump pressure in the bin.

“I knew that at the start of the over, if I could set it up without going for a boundary in one of the first two balls,