New Delhi: Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, while playing the first Test against England at Lord’s on July 10, did such a feat that even greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli could not do.
Record of 50+ in all three formats at Lord’s
By playing an innings of 58 runs on the first day, Harmanpreet became the first Indian player to score a half-century in all three formats of Test, ODI and T20 International at the historic ground of Lord’s.
37 year old Harmanpreet had earlier scored more than 50 runs in ODI and T20 here also. Now by scoring a half-century in the Test also, he made a unique record in his name. Till now no Indian had been able to achieve this feat in men’s cricket on the sacred pitch of Lord’s.
Top order faltered, then took over the innings
After losing the toss and opting to bat first, India had a bad start. Shefali Verma was out without opening the account and Yastika Bhatia returned to the pavilion after scoring 12 runs. India was 37/2 in just 7 overs.
From here Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues took the lead. Both added 64 runs for the third wicket. Jemima scored 35 runs in 38 balls and was out on the ball of Issie Wong.
Mandhana-Harman partnership strengthened
After Jemima’s departure, Harmanpreet came to the crease. Together with Smriti, he played the England bowlers freely. Both made a partnership of 89 runs for the fourth wicket. Harmanpreet Kaur, along with rotating the strike, also hit fours on bad balls. Smriti missed the century after scoring 83 runs.
He was also caught behind the wicket by Wong. Right after this, Harmanpreet completed her half-century and created history. But the celebration did not last long. Debuting spinner Maddy Villiers bowled her out.
India reached 285 due to Deepti Sharma’s fight
The Indian innings fell apart as soon as Harman was out. England took the remaining 7 wickets in just 85 runs. But Deepti Sharma did not give up in the lower order. He played a fighting inning of 57 runs and added 45 runs with Sneh Rana. Due to this, India was able to reach 285 runs in the first innings.
This innings of Harmanpreet at Lord’s will be remembered not only for the runs but also for the record. He showed that when passion and experience come together, history itself is made.
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