WPL 2024 began last night in Bengaluru with a nail-biting clash between the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals. MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to field first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
While Alice Capsey struck 75 and even proved to be a class act with the ball, it was Sajeevan Sajana who stole the show with a single hit on the final ball to clinch a four-wicket win for the defending champions.
Following the match, Delhi Capitals' batter Jemimah Rodrigues took to X to laud her rival Sajeevan Sajana for her last-ball six. In her post, Rodrigues highlighted how the MI youngster almost lost everything she had during the floods in Kerala but overcame the setback.
"The result was not what we hoped for but what a finish by Sajju the debutant! Comes from a humble background, lost almost everything in the Kerala floods, walks in when the team requires 1 ball 5 runs and hits an effortless six! What a story and more over what a player! 🙌🏻," Rodrigues wrote.
7 things you need to know about Sajana-
1. Hailing from Mananthavady in Wayanad, Kerala, Sajana went unsold in the WPL 2023 auction, but was picked by Mumbai in WPL 2024 auction for INR 10 lakh.
2. Sajana’s father Sajeevan is an auto rickshaw driver and her mother Sarada Sajeevan is a municipality councillor
3. Sajana is the second player from the Kurichiya tribe, a tribal community in Kerala’s Wayanad, to play in WPL after Minnu Mani.
4. Sajana wasn’t aware of women’s cricket till she turned 18.
5. Sajana’s cricket started by playing with plastic bat and coconut petiole and the game remained a mode of entertainment for her until a physical education teacher asked her to take up cricket seriously.
6. She started playing for district team in 2012, earning INR 150 per day which kept her motivated, eventually leading to her professional journey.
7. When Kerala witnessed one of the worst natural calamities - floods - in its history in 2018, Sajana's family was also badly affected. It was at that time that she was selected to represent the India Red team in the Challengers Trophy. She was worried about losing the opportunity but a police boat came to their rescue and the first thing she secured was her cricket kit bag. She was able to reach Bangalore for the match but was mentally not fit thinking about the situations at home.
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Sajana is a right-handed batter who can bowl off-spin and has led Kerala under-23 team to T20 Super League title in 2019. She was also declared the women cricketer of the year in 2015 and 2017 from Kerala Cricket Association. In the 2023 Senior Women’s T20 Trophy 2023, she scored 134 runs in seven innings and took six wickets.