Kolkata: Her team lost but she won accolades. Here’s India’s women’s T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who made an impressive debut in the Women’s Big Bash Down Under with a 47 off 28 balls at the North Sydney Oval today. She tried hard but to no avail as despite her efforts, her team Sydney Thunders conceded defeat to Melbourne Stars by six runs. According to PTI, Kaur was at her best and even was applauded by former Australian great Adam Gilchrist who was doing commentary.
She showed tremendous temperament and never looked lost during her team’s chase. As wickets started tumbling she stepped up the gas and was unfortunate not to have taken her team home. Kaur hit two fours and three sixes in the process, but lack of support did her team in. Sydney Thunders ended up scoring 141 for 4 chasing 148. Melbourne Stars’ scored 147 for 8 batting first.
All of 27, the woman born in Moga, Punjab is in for greater glory with her comfort level when it comes to scoring fast. Kaur was offered a place by many teams in the Women’s Big Bash, but according to her, it was not the money that was foremost in her mind. “Opportunities were what I was looking for. With just two overseas slots for foreign players, I was looking at sides where you have a chance to make XIs on a regular basis. With Thunder having just one overseas player, I thought that’s where I could get maximum game time,” she said to ESPN Cricinfo.
It was in 2009 that Kaur made her T-20 International debut in the ICC Women’s World T-20 and since then she has been a phenomenon for her country. She made her Test debut against England in 2014 and has so far represented India in 2 Tests, 58 ODIS and 68 T-20 Internationals.
Kaur is the first woman to be permitted to play in an overseas league and with the likes of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, Kaur definitely has rubbed shoulders with legends amongst women cricketers. With her impressive show on her debut in the Big Bash, there’s a lot we can look forward to.
