Having missed most of last year through injury, Chathli began this season with a career-high 95 in the T20 Cup against Hampshire. She also made a match-winning 65 against Warwickshire in the Blast.
With Warwickshire the opponents again in the final, it was Chathli who hit the winning runs in Surrey’s chase.
“I quite like problem-solving,” says Chathli, a chemistry graduate from University College London.
“I used to play chess when I was younger so I enjoy that.
“I’m quite good at reading pitches and the pace of the game.
“I like whacking the ball, but I also really enjoy the tactical side of cricket and getting into a battle with the bowler – what are they trying to do, and what can I do to get the better of them?”
Chathli’s father is Harry Chathli, the public relations and business expert who served as Yorkshire’s chair between October 2023 and May 2024.
Her early introduction to the sport came on family trips to India – her father was born in Mumbai – or when watching him play club cricket.
“It was probably a little bit inevitable,” she says.
In 2016, Chathli made local news headlines when she became the first female player to score a fifty for the men’s teams at Dulwich Cricket Club – a club that has been in existence since 1867.
Her younger brother also scored a fifty in the same match that day, though it later took a turn.
“He smashed the ball straight to extra cover and ran me out,” she laughs. “That’s definitely logged in the memory bank.”
Nine years on, Chathli made her first fifty in The Hundred in Spirit’s win against Birmingham Phoenix earlier this month.
At the other end was Australia superstar and Spirit team-mate Harris, as she was when they took Surrey over the line in that Blast final.
“Grace is funny. She’ll keep it simple and say, ‘If they bowl length, just ramp it; if it’s full, just step back and clear it over the top for six’,” says Chathli.
“It’s nice to know her thought process, but that’s not really my game.
“I’m usually not fussed about milestones, but the fact it was my first [fifty] at the highest level that we have in this country, it’s hard not to be pretty happy.
“It was nice to prove that I can do it on the biggest stage. To be out there with Grace, it was pretty special.”
