OTD I One of India’s finest right-hand batters, Veda Krishnamurthy was born in 1992 

Veda Krishnamurthy turns 31 today. The Indian women’s cricketer is one of the finest finishers India has ever produced in women’s cricket. For an entire decade, in the 2010s, the Indian lower middle-order batter was a mainstay in the team. Particularly in the mid-2010s and late 2010s, Veda was an integral part of the team. She formed a crucial part of the Indian team which was arguably at its peak around the period 2017-2020. 

Born in a small town in Karnataka named Kaduru, Veda is the youngest of the four siblings in her family. As her director at Karnataka Institute of Cricket, Irfan Sait asked her to shift to Bengaluru to pursue a cricket career, she moved to the big city. Right from her early days, she made a good name for herself as someone who could bowl a bit and hit some blows lower down the order. 

Veda made her debut in the Indian team on the 30th of June in 2011 at the young age of 18. On her debut, Veda scored 51 against a good side like England. In the same tour of England, Veda made her T20I debut against Australia in the T20 quadrangular series. Right after her debut, she was considered a bright talent for the Indian team. Veda was only the third Indian women’s cricketer to play in the women’s Big Bash League. 

Veda Krishnamurthy’s best performance came in the 2017 Women’s World Cup

Veda has represented various teams in her career till now. Veda represented Karnataka in first-class cricket from 2009 to 2014. Since 2015, Veda has been playing domestic cricket with Railways. In 2017 and 2018, Veda played for Hobart Hurricanes in women’s BBL. In women’s IPL, Veda played for Velocity in 2019 and 2020. For India, she played in the period 2011 to 2020. 

Veda has a good record as a lower-middle batter in international cricket. In Women’s ODIs, Veda played 48 matches and scored 829 runs, at a batting average of 25.90 including 8 fifties to her name. Veda also claimed 3 wickets as a bowler. In T20Is, Veda scored 875 runs in 76 matches at a batting average of 18.61, including two fifty-plus scores. In women’s BBL, Veda scored 144 runs in 9 matches.  

Her best performance came in the 2017 Women’s World Cup. In the group stage match against New Zealand, Veda scored 70 runs in just 45 balls, which propelled India to the semifinal of the tournament. In the final against England, Veda scored 35 runs. When she got out, India needed just 29 runs in 33 balls and eventually went on to lose the match by 9 runs. India came so close to winning the World Cup, but couldn’t make it.

But the performance of Veda in the tournament was lauded by many. The Indian cricketer was also a part of the team that reached the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup against Australia. In a packed ground in Melbourne that witnessed a record turnout for a women’s match, India was hammered by Australia. It was the last time Veda was in the Indian team for a consistent run. 

Following it, a lot of things went against Veda. She lost her form. It wasn’t even her biggest loss. Covid hit the world badly. Most importantly, India was severely affected during the second wave. During that period, Veda lost her mother and elder sister to covid. The tough times led to her inability to concentrate on cricket. In recent times, Veda has been found as a commentator in different tournaments.