'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WPL 2024 kicked off last night in Bengaluru with an exciting clash between last year's finalists, the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals. MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to field first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Alice Capsey's fine half-century guided the Delhi Capitals to 171/5. In reply, Yastika Bhatia and Harmanpreet Kaur smacked half-centuries to take the Mumbai Indians close to a win.
However, when MI needed five runs off two balls, Kaur lost her wicket, bringing new batter Sajeevan Sajana to the middle. Sajana did not show any nerves and hit a six off the first ball of her innings to seal the deal for the Mumbai Indians in the WPL 2024 season opener.
In this listicle, we will look at five things that fans should know about Sajeevan Sajana.
#1 Sajeevan Sajana overcame adversity in life to make it to WPL 2024
Just after the WPL 2024 season opener, 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.
#2 Sajeevan Sajana WPL 2024 auction price
The Mumbai Indians secured Sajeevan Sajana's services for ₹15 lakh at the Women's Premier League 2024 auction. She was the second-most expensive signing made by MI at the auction.
The Kerala-based all-rounder showed that the MI team management's decision to invest in her was worth it as she helped them earn two points in the first match of the season.
#3 Sajeevan Sajana led KCA Sapphire to the KCA Pink Challengers T20 Trophy in 2021
Not many fans would know that Sajana has captaincy experience under her belt as well. She was the skipper of the KCA Sapphire team that won the KCA Pink Challengers T20 Trophy in April 2021.
In fact, Sajana stole the show in the final by bowling a dream spell of 3/5, which helped KCA Sapphire bowl KCA Ruby out for just 55 runs. She then scored 21 runs to help her team chase the 56-run target in 13.2 overs with six wickets in hand.
#4 2021 was a dream year for Sajeevan Sajana
Apart from winning the KCA Challengers T20 Trophy, Sajeevan Sajana bowled some magnificent spells for Kerala in domestic matches during the 2021 season. She returned figures of 4/14 in a match against Nagaland Women in March 2021.
Next, in October 2021, Sajana bowled a spell of 4/18 against Assam Women. Later, in the month of November that year, she scalped three wickets while conceding eight runs and scored 50 runs in a match against Tripura Women.
#5 Sajeevan Sajana created a unique record on the first ball of her WPL career
Last night's WPL 2024 game marked Sajeevan Sajana's first outing in the Women's Premier League. She kicked off her career in style with a six off her very first ball.
With that shot, Sajana became the first women's cricketer to hit a six off the first ball of her innings to finish off a match on the final delivery. It will be interesting to see how the MI youngster performs in the upcoming games.
