While Neena Choudhary had led Himachal’s successful campaign with the bat, Tanuja Kanwer was instrumental in the team’s triumphs with the ball. The fast bowler turned left-arm spinner, picked 17 wickets from seven matches to finish as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Her efforts also included two four-wicket hauls as Himachal emerged winners from the plate group of Senior Women’s one-day league.
She claimed three for 26 in the final to help defend 185 against Uttar Pradesh and had finished with four for 15 in the semi-final against Karnataka. “When you get 17 wickets (in a tournament) you definitely feel happy,” said the spinner.
The achievement is made special due to her return to the Himachal side after a brief hiatus owing to an elbow injury that Kanwer picked up in 2015. “I was injured last year, so it was difficult to make a comeback. I had decided to focus on bowling dot balls because it helps in getting wickets (as it helps build pressure),” she said while talking about preparation ahead of the tournament.
Discussing the team’s plan while defending the modest target in the final Kanwer said, “We had decided to score as many runs as we can while batting and then bowl as many dot balls as possible. It helps build pressure on the batsman. I go for bowling the dot balls and not wickets.”
Looking back on the recently concluded tournament, the spinner picked two of her four wickets against Karnataka in the semi-final as the most memorable ones. “The two wickets of V Karuna Jain (Karnataka opener and captain) and Vinita VR (middle-order batsman) in the semi-final were very important,” she said.
Speaking about making her way back to competitive cricket after the injury, she said, “I had picked up an elbow injury in 2015 and underwent treatment for about four months. My coach, Ranjit Singh Sandhu (from Amritsar, Punjab University) helped me. I gradually worked through the rehabilitation. He was very supportive and built my confidence.”
The daughter of a farmer, Kanwer found out about women’s cricket in the news. “I started playing cricket five years back. I would just bowl at home. I read in the news that selection was on for HPCA and I went there. I used to bowl fast and didn’t know much when I went for the trails. The trial was for the HPCA academy and I was selected,” she says looking back.
“I used to bowl fast earlier and then, just (like that) tried (bowling) spin. It worked for me and the coach, Mr Pawan Sen said that the spin is working better for me and told me to continue bowling spin,” she explained while talking about shifting from fast bowling to spin.
To pursue the game, the girl from Shimla moved to Amritsar in Punjab. “I received a call from Amritsar to play for college. They said they would get me into (represent) the University team as well. Now I am in second year BA. It’s tough, but the college is very supportive and helps a lot. My parents, siblings and everyone is very supportive.”
Describing her schedule she says, “I practice in Punjab in Amritsar, Khalsa college. The day starts at 5 am. We have a fitness session in the morning and then in the evening we do skill work.”
Asked about the areas that she will be working on, Kanwer said she will be working on getting her lengths right and prepare for their next tournament, the women’s T20 league.
