From tennis ball cricket in Bundelkhand to six-wicket haul against England: Pacer Kranti Goud's resilient story

Team India clinched their first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup title at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on Sunday. Amid nationwide celebrations, several stories emerged about the players' journeys. However, bowler Kranti Goud's story is probably the most cinematic.

Months before the World Cup victory, Kranti Goud became only the second Indian, after Jhulan Goswami, to achieve a six-wicket haul in a Women's One Day International (WODI) against England. This also made her the third Indian, overall, to take six wickets in an ODI match, joining Mamatha Maben and Jhulan Goswami.

India's World Cup victory: A look at pacer Kranti Goud's terrific performance

On Sunday's World Cup run, of course, Kranti Goud's electrifying spell was instrumental in India’s victory over South Africa, hails from Ghuwara, located in Chhatarpur district.

The BCCI announced a cash reward of ₹51 crore for India's World Cup-winning women's team and the Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav announced an incentive of Rs 1 crore for Kranti from the state government.

However, the 'daughter of Chattarpur' needed acute resilience to get through her foundational years.

She was born to a retired police constable, Kranti’s early life was marked by hardship. Financial struggles forced her to drop out of school after Class 8 when her father lost his job. Kranti grew up in Bundelkhand, a region with little cricketing exposure, and she started her journey playing tennis-ball cricket with local boys, and she would often be the only girl on the field.

Kranti Goud left school after Class 8, and her father, Munna Singh, a former police constable in Madhya Pradesh, lost his job in 2012 while on election duty. The family had to vacate their government quarters and move into a rented house.

Her eldest brother, Mayank, quit school to support the family. “We were in a lot of trouble,” he said in an interview early this year. “There were days we didn’t have proper meals. People mocked us for letting Kranti pursue cricket, but somehow we held on.”

In 2017, Kranti joined the Sai Cricket Academy in Chhatarpur, where coach Rajiv Bilthare took her under his wing. He vividly remembered her first day, “She came in worn-out clothes and regular shoes,” he said. “Her father was jobless. Her family had nothing. I didn’t charge her any fees. I gave her shoes, uniform, and even bought her gear."

Bilthare also recalled a touching moment: “I gave her Rs 1,600 to buy cricket spikes. She lit up. Said it felt like a dream.”

Kranti later trained under Chandrakant Pandit, the renowned coach of both Madhya Pradesh and Kolkata Knight Riders. “She worked hard day and night and improved her bowling within a year. There’s something about her bowling—a fire in her belly, a passion that helped her rise fast,” Pandit shared.

He first noticed her during open trials in Indore when she was just 17. “Her run-up and smooth action stood out. A couple of years ago, she stopped bowling due to back issues, but after I scolded her, she returned to bowling. She’s also a brilliant fielder.”

Kranti made her district debut for Madhya Pradesh’s senior team during the 2023–24 season. She represented her district, guided them to the finals of the state-level tournament. Her breakthrough came in the 2024–25 season when she played a crucial role in helping Madhya Pradesh secure their first-ever domestic one-day championship.

Her impressive performances caught the attention of the Women’s Premier League 2025 scouts, and she was picked by the UP Warriorz at the auction for INR 10 lakh. This success soon paved the way for her entry into the India Women’s senior team.

Kranti made her WODI debut in the Sri Lanka Women’s Tri-Series against South Africa, followed by her T20I debut during the fifth match of the England tour in Birmingham that July. In that series, she delivered a remarkable spell in the third ODI at Chester-le-Street, taking 6 wickets for 52 runs. With this performance, Kranti became only the second Indian bowler to claim five wickets in a single match.

In Kranti’s hometown of Ghuwara, a small town in Chhatarpur district, celebrations broke out as friends, neighbours, and relatives gathered outside her humble home.

Her brother Mayank Singh, beamed with pride and shared, “Humari behen aage nikal gayi to esa lag raha hai har cheez humare power mein hai. Usne bachpan se hi leather ball se practice ki aur bohot mehnat kari.”

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