India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur created history with her courageous performance against Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup but was unable to fetch her team a win.
M Harmanpreet fought hard to lead India in a tricky chase of 152 in front of a packed house in Sharjah, stroking an unbeaten 54 off 47 balls, laced with experience and determination. However, her effort ultimately went in vain as India fell short, losing by just nine runs.
Harmanpreet’s brave knock also saw her become the joint-highest run-getter for India in the Women’s T20 World Cup with 726 runs. She is now tied with the legendary Mithali Raj in this record. Harmanpreet then equaled Mithali’s record for the most fifties in the tournament when she scored her fifth half-century.
Despite the personal success, Australia kept winning the wickets. And put India’s aspirations of a semi-final berth in a spot of bother. An excellent final over by Annabel Sutherland sealed it for Australia. As India now faces an uphill task of needing to win their next match to stay in the competition.
Harmanpreet’s innings gave India a fighting chance, more so when boundaries became hard to come by. On a slowish start for 19 runs off 25 balls, she managed to turn the course of the game. She scored 35 runs off her next 22 deliveries at a strike rate of 159.09, keeping India in the hunt.
However, with 14 runs needed from the final over, Harmanpreet found herself at the non-striker’s end for most of the over, which hindered India’s chances of winning.
Finally, an incredible effort from Harmanpreet could not prevent India from falling short. But she had ensured her name was etched in the record books. Despite the defeat, her resilience and her leadership were evident throughout the match.
ANI
