Harmanpreet Kaur: Harry's heroics
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur has found her old touch and is churning out impressive knocks one after the other.
Regained form
After finishing as the highest run scorer in the Women's T20 Challenge, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur performed quite well in the 2022 Commonwealth Games as well.She made 137 runs from 5 matches at an average of 34.25 and, more importantly, at a strike rate of 139.79 with the help of 17 boundaries and 4 sixes. Her best of 65 came in the all-important final against Australia.
The way she used the sweep shot and forced Australian captain Meg Lanning to change the field was amazing to see. Her power game was on the point as she batted at a strike rate of over 150, which is awesome in a chase of 162.
Had she not been dismissed at the most inopportune time, India looked set to cruise to victory.
No near yet so far
"Every time in big finals, we make the same mistakes again and again [with the bat], that is something we have to improve," Harmanpreet said. "We don't do these mistakes in the league phase or in bilateral. That is blocking our mind somewhere. I am someone who is always looking for one more batter in the side. Unfortunately, we're working on that. Once we get that, this thing [collapsing] will go away."After losing two crucial wickets, the way Jemi and I batted was much needed at that time. You need to hold your nerves. We were nearly there. Maybe if Pooja [Vastrakar] or I were around, we could've won the game. But that is part of the game; sometimes, some things you can't control. It is great learning for us. If you want to beat this Australian team, you have to field well. If you give them easy runs, they can easily take the game away. We discussed it in the team meeting, and Radha set the example for us," she added.
Good news for Indian women's cricket
Harmanpreet Kaur was in great form in the 2022 ODI World Cup as well, where she hit a ton in the match against West Indies alongside Smriti Mandhana.It is good news for Indian women's cricket that despite taking on the responsibility of the full-time captaincy, Harmanpreet Kaur is not bogged down by it. In fact, captaincy is sitting well with her, and her consistency is a testament to that.
