It was raining boundaries at the Brabourne Stadium as Sophie Devine showed why she is considered one of the most dangerous batters in the world. The big-hitting Royal Challengers Bangalore opener came agonisingly close to becoming the first ever player in Women’s Premier League history to score a century as she fell on 99 against Gujarat Giants on Sunday.

Bringing her A game against Gujarat Giants, Devine wreaked havoc during a blazing innings that saw her first belting 24 runs in the over of Ashleigh Gardner in the Powerplay before creaming 22 in an over of Tanuja Kanwar later on.

Devine, who captains New Zealand at the international level, was hitting a boundary nearly every delivery with GG captain Sneh Rana and her fielders left in a daze, regularly being forced to fetch the ball from the boundary.

Chasing 189, Devine and her RCB captain Smriti Mandhana led an excellent start with the opening pair stitching a century stand. They were separated when Mandhana fell on 37 but not before RCB had reached 125 in just 9.2 overs.

A century seemed inevitable for the 33-year-old Devine considering how easily she was clearing the boundary. But it wasn’t meant to be as in her effort to reach the milestone in style, she ended up holing out in the 12th over, bowled by Kim Garth.

She blasted nine fours and eight sixes during her 36-ball assault and now holds the record for the highest individual score in WPL 2023.

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