Published: Feb 21, 2017, 08:37 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 21, 2017, 10:04 PM (IST)
Imagine an ICC event finale without the title-favourites’ biggest weapon? Yes, Indian eves were caught in a similar fix ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers‘ final. Mithali Raj was out of the contest, versus South Africa Women, due to hamstring as her deputy, Harmanpreet Kaur, led the playing XI. Little did the 27-year-old no that she would pull off an ‘MS Dhoni’ kind of innings to guide her side home by 1 wicket in Colombo. With this, India Women won the tournament comprehensively without dropping a single game. Deepti Sharma was adjudged Man of the Match whereas Sune Luus picked up the Player of the Tournament award. Harmanpreet Kaur leads India to nail-biting victory against South Africa in final of ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers 2017
South Africa opted to bat and looked in control for a big score. Contributions from the top and middle order propelled them to 244 all-out in 49.4 overs. Nonetheless, they were destined for more but Indian eves pulled things back in the end. The same was the scenario for India as they were cruising at 186 for 3 but got reduced to 223 for 8 in no time. Deepti and Mona Meeshram laid the foundation but a lower order collapse made Proteas overwhelming favourites. Nonetheless, with the equation down to 8 off 2 balls, Harmanpreet used the long handle to good effect by sailing the penultimate ball for a maximum and taking a couple to ensure a thrilling win over her side.
Amazing win by the @BCCIWomen team, they have had a good 12 months now.Special mention to the very talented @ImHarmanpreet
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) February 21, 2017
Harmanpreet led from the front and did not make Mithali’s absence felt in the middle to set social media on fire. Twitter was in awe of the stand-in captain for showing nerves of steel with a run-a-ball 41.
India win the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017. They beat South Africa by 1 wicket, off the last ball at Colombo #IndvSA
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 21, 2017
Women continue to make India proud. Congratulations to our Women’s Rugby team for winning a silver at the Asian Rugby Sevens Trophy.
— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) February 21, 2017
Nailbiter between India’s women cricketers and South Africa in the World Cup qualifier final. Both have qualified though. — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 21, 2017
Congratulations @BCCIWomen on becoming the #WWC17 Qualifier Champions ! Great finish and really proud of you. pic.twitter.com/nU4zcxmT8Z
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 21, 2017
Remember the name.
Harmanpreet Kaur.
Our kudi.
Our very own kudi.
What a finisher.@ImHarmanpreet @ImSushVerma @vedakmurthy08TRENDING NOW
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) February 21, 2017
The trophy was shared by Mithali and Harmanpreet as Proteas were left perplexed and Indian eves walked off the ground pulling off a stunner. They remained unbeaten in the tournament and now will set their eyes on the World Cup later this year.
