Niki Prasad creates history in her second T20I

The 21-year-old all-rounder achieved a rare feat on Sunday when she took two wickets off the first two deliveries of her T20I career, becoming the first Indian player to do so. Niki Prasad, who made her debut in the series opener against Zimbabwe, did not get to bowl in that game but left her mark with the ball in the second match.

Coming into the attack in the 15th over, the right-arm off-spinner had the well-set Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano caught behind for 34 off 32. On the next ball, she trapped Nyasha Gwanzura plumb in front for a golden duck. Prasad could not get a hat-trick but already created history with her first two balls in international cricket.

Apart from her, only two other players have claimed wickets off their first two T20I deliveries: Australia’s Michael Kasprowicz against New Zealand in 2005 and the United States of America’s (USA) Akshatha Rao versus Scotland Women in 2019.

Niki Prasad was excellent with the bat on her T20I debut, where she rescued India from a critical situation. Chasing 115, the hosts lost the top four for just 19 runs, after which Prasad stitched an 82-run stand with Deepti Sharma (49). She struck an unbeaten 39 off 35 deliveries with six fours and ensured the team got over the line.

The highly rated all-rounder was signed by Delhi Capitals ahead of the Women's Premier League 2025 for INR 10 lakhs and was retained for the following season. In overall T20 cricket, she has 653 runs at an average of 28.39, along with 11 wickets at an economy of 6.81.

Prasad was the best batter for Karnataka in the Inter-State Women's One Day Competition 2025/26, where she made 258 runs from seven innings at an average of 51.60 while striking at an excellent rate of 124.03.

Her journey to the Indian side has been rapid, having starred against Australia A more recently. She smashed 76 runs and picked up four wickets in a One-Day fixture before scoring 91 in the first innings of the unofficial Test and taking 7 for 77 across two innings, including a five-for.

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