He is no stranger to taking blinders, and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur added one more to his collection of special catches in the first ODI against the West Indies in Vadodara on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 315 runs, West Indies, struggling at 26/4, needed some big shots to ease the pressure. In the 11th over, Alia Eleni decided to field Renuka Singh Thakur and must have thought she had managed to get herself a boundary.
But standing at mid-on, Harmanpreet had a different idea. She timed the jump perfectly to scoop up the ball with her right hand. A stunning catch by the Indian skipper, and then there were equally shocked reactions from all around – the batsman couldn’t believe it, neither could Renuka, and even the players in the Windies dugout left hand in hand.
Play it on the phone!
WhαΊ₯t. π΄. πππ πͺπ―! π―
Absolute screamer! π π
Harmanpreet Kaur – Take a Bow π π
Live βΆοΈ https://t.co/OtQoFnoAZu#TeamIndia | #INDvWI | @imharmanpreet | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/Fkuyj75Ok0
– BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 22, 2024
Earlier in the day, Smriti Mandhana put on her purple patch with a brilliant 91 off 102 balls to take India to 314/9. Mandhana has now recorded 50-plus innings for India in five consecutive innings (a century in Australia, three T20I fifties against WI and now this). The launch pad was provided by Mandhana along with debutant Pratika Rawal who scored a fine 40 early on. Then the middle order showed good intentions after the mark of 30 overs.
Harmanpreet (34 off 23 balls), Harleen Deol (44 off 50 balls), Richa Ghosh (26 off 12 balls), and Jemimah Rodrigues (31 off 19 balls) all played with good purpose at the back end.
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