Rubina didn´t let her bad experience at home affect her performance in Malaysia where she created history by taking five wickets in the final over. “I played well there,” Rubina, who bowled the majestic final over against Singapore, told Republica that she still feels scared whenever she recalls those moments before going to Malaysia. Rubina, who created history in the recently concluded ACC Women´s Twenty20 Cricket Championship in the match against Singapore by taking five wickets in the final over including a hat-trick, received a warn welcome when she landed in her hometown on Tuesday. Big crowd greeted her as she came out of the airport in Chandraghadhi, Jhapa. People struggled to get a snap of her.
Fast bowler Rubina has became a celebrity overnight, she is busy answering phone calls and accepting invitations for her felicitation in the district. “I am very happy,” says a shy Rubina, adding, “The game has changed my life.”
She never expected this would happen when she first played cricket in her school four years ago. She reminisced her past, “I had just tried my hand in the game, but it´s only after Manoj Katuwal and Biru Shrestha called me for a training two years ago that I got attracted to cricket.” She added, “It´s their coaching and support which helped me to succeed in the game.”
Rubina recalled the moment when her skipper handed her the ball in the final over when Singapore just needed two runs to win and had five wickets intact. But the inevitable happened, wickets fell regularly and the match ended in a draw. “I just wanted to beat the batswomen, but the game went another way.”
She described, “My heart beat faster when the first ball was a dot, and my confidence leapfrogged after I completed hat-trick by taking four wickets in second, third, fourth and fifth balls.” Rubina further described “The sixth ball was a wide which leveled the score but I bowled the batswoman in the last ball to end the game, I couldn´t believe, everybody congratulated me after we went on to win the match in bowl out.” However Rubina missed the target in the bowl out.
The 10th grader at North Point Higher Secondary School says she now wants to focus more on her studies, but does not forget to vow to take cricket along with her study. “I will continue my training here.” Her school is felicitating her with a cash prize and has decided to support her higher education.
Rubina is staying with her mother and brother in the family that is dependant on pension of her late father.
Rubina received Rs 40,000 cash prize after returning from Malaysia. She wants to foster her career in cricket. She insisted “We must sharpen our skills at least a few days before big tournaments.”
Related story
Policy Convergence and Small Changes: An Economic Idea Left Beh...
