Nandni Sharma's start to the day at cricket on Sunday wasn't one to remember.

When Nandni was handed the ball to deliver the third over of the match, Sophie Devine had got off to a steady start - 15 off 11. The 24-year-old pacer from Chandigarh invited the batter to drive, and suffered at the hands of her own teammates' mistakes on the field.

The first delivery, driven to covers, went through the fielder's hands for a boundary. The next one, angled slightly further away from the batter, was driven towards deep extra cover, where Marizanne Kapp couldn't stop it with a dive despite getting her hands to the ball.

The two misfields set the stage for Devine to open up. Three deliveries later she clubbed Nandni's pitched up delivery down the ground for a six, several yards beyond the ropes. And off the next ball, another fumble followed. Nandni's short-pitched delivery was pulled straight to Chinelle Henry at deep mid wicket. While looking to throw the ball back to the bowler, Nandni failed to return to the crease on time, and Jemimah Rodrigues fumbled while collecting the ball, allowing the batters to cross over for an extra run.

There would be less frustrating days - far more often - to start her spells. With 16 runs from the over, it was the start of the shifting of momentum in the match. And Delhi Capitals' fielding woes were hard to miss. However, Nandni claims she wasn't too fussed with those mistakes, and didn't allow it to ruffle her.

By the time she returned for her second over, Giants had crossed the 120-run mark, Devine was only a few hits away from a century, and half of Giants' innings was yet to unfold.

Nandni began with a couple of short balls to push Ash Gardner on the backfoot, and then switched to her back of the hand slower balls. It brought immediate rewards: Devine mistimed a pull, and skied it to the short fine leg fielder. The dismissal triggered a collapse. Nandni's change of pace, especially the slower ones, proved especially effective.

Kashvee Gautam holed out to the fielder at long on, Kanika Ahuja was beaten by an off-cutter and stumped, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Renuka Singh were cleaned up in the last over. Playing only her second WPL game, Nandni bagged a fifer, and became the fourth bowler to return a hat-trick.

Her efforts limited Giants to 209, a total which skipper Gardner believed was 15 runs short. It allowed Delhi Capitals to stay alive in the chase till the last delivery, even as they fell short by 4 runs eventually.

It's interesting how Nandni found herself in this situation. Following an impressive domestic season, in which she picked 13 wickets in 10 games for Chandigarh and India A - at an economy rate of 5.90 (in each of the four seasons of domestic cricket, she has conceded at less than run-a-ball) - Nandini was picked as the sole frontline Indian pacer in DC's squad during the mega auctions. It was far-removed from the experienced and vast core of pace options they had boasted in the first three seasons, with the likes of Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy and Titas Sadhu in the squad.

With Annabel Sutherland opting out of this season, the entire pace pack had reduced to three - only Marizanne Kapp and Chinelle Henry to give company to Nandni. The way in which DC's balance fell off with Sutherland's absence, it was obvious then that there would be more than back-up and part-time responsibility expected out of the Chandigarh pacer, who was groomed by DC's newly appointed bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad in the pre-tournament camp in Goa to sharpen her skills. There aren't any other pacers in the squad to fall back on.

Nandni had shown signs of maturity even in the opening game. After being smashed for two boundaries to begin her spell, she conceded only 18 runs off the next 16 deliveries, and picked up two wickets, keeping her nerves in check during the death overs.

Jonathan Batty, DC's coach, had mentioned that Nandni was on the radar of the coaches and scouts in the team, and had even attended a few trials. However, it was in training that she really impressed. Following her performance against Giants, skipper Jemimah was effusive in praise for the young seamer, eventhough the efforts came in a losing cause.

"Nandni has been one of our top picks this season," Rodrigues said following the loss on Sunday. "She's a captain's delight. Whatever you ask her to do, she's so accurate in doing it. The kind of mindset she has, she's ready to take it on. So, that's what makes her special and I'm very happy for her."

While BCCI is set on its pace bowling hunt with the BCCI Speed Queen program, Nandini is one of the rare Indian pacers who can clock upwards of 110 kmph on a regular basis. In a country where batting and spin bowling are the preferred vocations, where conditions aren't friendly for pace bowlers, Nandini has picked the hard task, and put up a fine exhibition of it. Her variations, game sense and ability to deliver under pressure were all on display over the weekend. In the process, she became the first Indian pacer - and the first uncapped international - to bag a hat-trick in WPL.

But what is the secret of that success that she wishes to share with the upcoming pacers, and with those who will be inspired to take up fast bowling even amidst the struggles of it?

"All I would tell them is - never give up in life," is Nandni's simple mantra.

"There would be times when it would seem that everything is going bad. There would also be times when you would want to give up pace bowling. There would be times you would get injured. You have to fight all these moments and come back. Just never give up."

Evidently for Nandni, the starts - no matter how bad - don't define the end.