Published: Jul 21, 2017, 08:58 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 21, 2017, 09:08 AM (IST)
Coming in at No. 4, Indian eves‘ vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur added her name to the record books by smashing a whirlwind 171 not out (off 115 balls) versus Australia and take her side to the final of ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 against England at Lord’s. India defeated tournament-favourite in the semi-final at Derby to book a place for the summit clash on Sunday. Australia’s thunder was stolen by a maverick knock by Harmanpreet and she became the highest run-scorer for India (both men and women) in an ODI knockout match. She registered her highest individual score, which is also the fifth highest score in women’s cricket. By virtue of a staggering innings, which was filled with counter attack from the word go, India beat Australia by 36 runs on Thursday.
Harmanpreet converted her 10th fifty into her third hundred and second in World Cup. She then went past Mithali, registering India’s highest score in World Cup. She then brought her third fifty in 17 balls, becoming the first Indian to score 150 in World Cup. Across genders, she became only the third Indian to score hundred in a World Cup knockout match. Sourav Ganguly and Rohit Sharma had attained this feat earlier, against teams like Kenya and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the 28-year-old girl did it against Australia, the mightiest team in women’s cricket.
Harmanpreet’s innings was included with 20 fours and 7 sixes. In short, she piled on 122 runs standing firm at the crease. She was involved in two crucial partnerships. One was with skipper, Mithali Raj, and the other with Deepti Sharma to change the complexion of the game. India women are now just one step away from lifting their first ever World Cup. They are also on the verge of following the men’s team who won their maiden World Cup at Lord’s in 1983.
