On Monday, December 23, 2024, Bengal Women made headlines as they went on a rampage to register an unbelievable victory against Haryana Women in a high-scoring run chase at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. The record books were re-written as Bengal Women set a new world record for completing the highest-ever run chase in women's List-A cricket. The record was set during the quarter-final match of the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy 2024.

In the process, they managed to surpass the previous best record of 309 set by Northern Districts against Canterbury in New Zealand’s domestic competition back in 2019. Bengal Women were tasked with chasing a near-impossible target of 390 thanks to Shefali Varma's blitzkrieg of 197 in 115 balls. Dhara Gujjar and Sasthi Mondal gave Bengal a steady start with a century opening stand the crushing blow came off the bat of Tanushree Sarkar (113 off 83) and Priyanka Bala (88 off 81) who laid down a solid foundation during the middle overs to steer Bengal to victory with five wickets & five balls to spare. 

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A look at the top five highest run chases in women's one-day cricket

It requires no mention that Bengal's brutal 390 against Haryana tops the list of highest run chases ever recorded in women's one-day cricket. Second to them is Northern Districts Women's 309 achieved against Canterbury in a domestic List-A tournament in New Zealand back in 2019. 

In international cricket, Sri Lanka Women currently hold the record of completing the highest run chase of 305 successfully against South Africa earlier this year at the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom. Chasing any score beyond the 300-run mark is a rarity in women's cricket as no other team apart from Sri Lanka has managed to do so in women's international one-dayers. 

390 - Bengal v Haryana, 2024

309 - Northern Districts v Canterbury, 2019

305 - Sri Lanka v South Africa, 2024

292 - Western Storm v Thunder, 2021

290 - Dragons v Typhoons, 2023

Tanusree Sarkar and Priyanka Bala power Bengal to the semis

After being inserted to bat first, Shefali hit the ground running and launched a massive score of 197 to single-handedly propel Haryana to a monstrous first innings score of 389. Shafali Verma scored 197 runs off 115 balls with 22 fours and 11 sixes and laid the platform for Haryana with a 173-run partnership for the opening wicket with Reema Sisodia, who made 58 runs off 72 balls. 

In response, Bengal completely flipped the script in their favor and blew the Haryana bowlers away by chasing down the target with five balls to spare. Tanusree turned out to be the key architect of the run chase smashing a valiant 113 off 83 balls at a strike-rate of 136.14 with 20 fours. Once she was dismissed, Priyanka Bala battled it out and notched up an unbeaten 88* to take Bengal over the finishing line. Haryana's bowling lacked penetration.

Only three bowlers including Mendhiya, Rana, and Vasistha offered some control with the ball picking up four wickets in total. However, they did not get adequate support from the rest of the bowling group and as a result, Haryana threw it away despite finishing strongly with the bat in the first innings.

In their quest to explore exotic talent, the Perth Scorchers management stumbled upon a rare cricketing commodity during their visit to Bali earlier this year. Perth Scorchers women's coach Becky Grundy and high performance boss Kade Harvey were mighty impressed by what Ni Made Putri Suwandewi had to offer. Suwandewi, aged 29 is a rookie pacer who made her international debut for Indonesia in 2019. Gifted with a menacing inswinger and deceptive slower delivery, Suwandewi maintains a jaw-dropping economy rate of 2.97 RPO which is by far the best from anyone in the history of women's T20I cricket.

With veteran quick Piepa Cleary forced to wait on the sidelines due to a knee injury, the door was left ajar for the young Indonesian quick to feature in one of Australia's biggest cricketing carnivals. She has been signed in as an Associate rookie for the Scorchers ahead of the upcoming WBBL season. As per the current WBBL guidelines, franchises are allowed to enlist players from the Associate nations and then place them outside the 15-player squad.

More about the Indonesian fast-bowling sensation

Suwandewi has been a standout player for Indonesia and has starred in numerous international fixtures for her country in recent times. Ever since making her T20I debut, Suwandewi has snapped an unbelievable 49 wickets in 40 T20I wickets at a stunning average of 8.18. Moreover, her career-best economy rate also makes her a tough contender with the ball as well. 

The rookie fast-bowling sensation straight away left a lasting impression upon her arrival in Perth on Saturday where she quickly garnered the attention of some of the key members of the coaching personnel during a routine training exercise. Suwandewi also confessed that she had been observing the WBBL closely and expressed her desire to play her part in it someday. Despite being short in stature, Suwandewi is armed with all the necessary traits a premium fast bowler should possess making her a force to reckon with. 

What does the Perth Scorchers team management think of Suwandewi? 

During a conversation with ESPNcricinfo, Harvey, the high performance coach for the Scorchers showered heaps of praises on Suwandewi. Harvey believes that the 26-year-old is truly capable of performing on the big stage and expects her to play a decisive role for their side in the forthcoming WBBL edition. Her natural ability to extract sharp inswing movement coupled with a highly deceptive slower ball were some of the major traits that stood out for Harvey. While observing her closely during the training session, Harvey also learned that Suwandewi has great control over her length and can fire in the yorkers at will. 

Both Grundy and Harvey expressed their gratitude for acquiring the services of this young Associate pacer and truly recognized her importance to the side and what she brings to the table. The duo has acknowledged that the availability of international players through the course of the tournament will certainly be an ongoing challenge which is where Suwandewi's presence could prove quite handy. Despite hailing from an underprivileged cricket background in Indonesia, the depth of Ni Made Putri Suwandewi's skill makes her a rarity in modern-day cricket. 

Scorchers will open their account against Melbourne Starson on October 27 at the WACA where she is expected to work alongside the T20 WC-winning captain Sophie Devine who will take charge of the Perth-based outfit this season.