Lauren Bell sits third on the most wicket-takers list, but that doesn't justify how clinical she has been.
Lauren Bell at the top of her mark is quickly becoming a nightmare for batters in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The tall fast bowler has skittled some of the best batters in the competition already, and looks hungry for more as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) push for a Final berth.
The 2024 champions won their fifth game on the trot, becoming the team with the most consecutive wins in the history of the tournament. And two out of the many players who have contributed to it in a huge way have been Nadine de Clerk and Lauren Bell.
The South African all-rounder started the campaign off with a sumptuous knock against the defending champions, but has now taken over the mastery with the ball in hand. Nadine de Klerk is now the purple cap holder in the tournament with 10 wickets to her name.
After receiving her cap post the game against Gujarat Giants, De Klerk spoke about how Lauren Bell has been making their job easier by striking big in the first couple of overs. In their last match against the Delhi Capitals, Bell and Sayali Satghare dismantled the top-order with some terrific bowling.
“It’s really easy to go on after the way Bell has opened the bowling. She’s picked up some of the big hitters up front this season and makes it easier for me. Just keeping it nice and simple and trying to back up the other bowlers,” said Nadine de Klerk on Lauren Bell.
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To be honest, when RCB took the field against the Mumbai Indians in the first game of the season, not many were impressed with their line-up. The Smriti Mandhana-led side did not have any depth to their batting at all.
However, in the last five matches, almost each player in the playing XI has stepped up in crunch moments – which is a sign of a great team. To give some context, five different players have won the ‘Player of the Match’ award till now, which proves that the team is not reliable on just one or two players.
Now here’s the catch! Lauren Bell despite her heroics with the ball, has not been adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’ on a single occasion. But that does not take away anything from the way Mandhana has used her throughout this tournament.
On occasions when Bell has been very impressive in the powerplay, the RCB skipper has not hesitated to give her the entire spell of four overs straight up. And more often than not, the decision has paid off. The English speedster gets a sublime advantage of her height, and has a beautiful release point and seam position.
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