India Women’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur rings her 34th birthday today. From starting off her career as a bowler to emerging as one of the most trustworthy all-rounders, the journey of the Punjab girl was nothing but a roller coaster ride.
A lead medium pacer, Harmanpreet had to face a lot of struggle in her starting days as the prime of legendary bowlers like Jhulan Goswami and Amita Sharma was constantly shadowing her capability.
However, she did not take much time to get out of it. Harmanpreet remodelled her game by turning into a spinner and putting more effort into batting. Soon, she rose to fame and took on leadership responsibility of the Indian women’s cricket team after Mithali raj’s retirement.
ALSO READ| Commentary, Billboards: What Ahmedabad Has in Store for PM Modi, Anthony Albanese
On this special occasion of her birthday, let’s take a look at the best knocks played by Harmanpreet Kaur:
171 vs Australia; World Cup semi-final (2017)
The Indian side was struggling at 35/2 when veteran batter Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet took charge of the game. The duo displayed great composure and steered the inning well until Raj was sent back to the pavilion for 36.
Harmanpreet continued the show and remained unbeaten at 171 off 115 balls till the end, helping India to reach a worth-fighting total of 288 runs. In reply, Australia fell short of 36 runs, making way for the Indian brigade to book a seat in the final.
143 vs England (2022)
Harmanpreet Kaur became the first Indian women’s cricketer to receive the ICC Player of the Month award thanks to her unparalleled form in the England tour in September 2022.
In the second ODI of the series, the skipper played a massive innings of 143 runs (111 balls) decorated with as many as 18 boundaries and 4 sixes. Powered by the captain’s knock, India posted a mammoth 333 runs on the board and eventually beat the hosts by 88 runs.
ALSO READ| India vs Australia 4th Test: Ahmedabad Pitch and That Rohit Sharma Look
107 vs England, World Cup (2013)
It was undoubtedly the breakthrough season for Harmanpreet and the rhythm persisted in a high voltage World-Cup match against mighty England. Coming in to chase 273 runs, India failed to pull off a promising start losing three batters in just 29 runs. While they were seeking something magical, Harmanpreet stepped onto the crease.
She stitched a crucial partnership with KV Jain bringing India back to the game. Individually, the right-handed batter smashed a century scoring 107 runs in 109 deliveries. Her commendable knock included 8 fours and 2 maximums. Even after dedicating all her sweat and blood, Harmanpreet failed to sail India across victory as they lost the match by just 34 runs.
52 vs Australia, T20 World Cup Semi-final (2023)
It certainly comes among Harmanpreet Kaur’s best international knocks, not for the numbers but for the platform and a dangerous opponent like Australia. India were required to chase down 173 runs and following a rare collapse in the top order, Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues were left with the majority of the burden.
ALSO READ| ‘You Want Right Decisions to be Made’: Parthiv Patel Not Worried About Match Flow Being Disturbed by Reviews For Wide And No-balls
After Jemimah departed for 43, the Indian skipper went on to smash a commendable half-century before an unfortunate run-out led to her fall. Harmanpreet’s inning concluded at 52 and India eventually fell just 5 runs short of making their second consecutive appearance in the T20 World Cup final.
46 vs Australia (2016)
Harmanpreet has been exceptional whenever she has taken the field against Australia. In an overseas T20I in Adelaide, India were chasing behind a mere target of 141 runs. After losing four of their batters, the visitors were well behind the required run rate when Harmanpreet came out of her shell. She played a blazing 46-run knock in 31 deliveries and helped India win the game with 8 balls left to spare.
Keywords: Harmanpreet Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur’s birthday, Happy Birthday Harmanpreet Kaur, Indian women’s team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur’s best innings, Harmanpreet Kaur’s top knocks, Harmanpreet Kaur’s top five knocks
Get the latest Cricket News here
Comments
0 comment