Harmanpreet Kaur was unbeaten on 171 at the end of the innings. (Source: Reuters)
Waiting for the match to start can sometimes be very frustrating. India and Australia waiting for long for the rain to stop so that their ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final can begin. But, it was not to be at time. The players waited in the dressing room for it to stop so they could get some play. Two hours after the scheduled time, the toss took place.
The players were finally out on the field with India batting first after winning the toss. Mithali Raj decided to put some runs on the board by batting first at Derby, a ground on which India are yet to lose a match in this tournament.
It did not look different from other matches once it began. As India have done all through the tournament, they began slowly. Smirti Mandhana and Punam Raut had the responsibility to get India some good start but the former was dismissed in the second over. By the time the 10th over finished, India were two down for 35.
It was on Raj once again leading India’s rebuilding process. She played some fluent shots in her innings. It was all of 36 runs but she looked good for more. No pressure and playing in the gaps to put on some runs on the board. Harmanpreet Kaur on the other end was growing in confidence as well. But, India were not going good in what was only 42-over innings.
Then Raj was dismissed. Deepti Sharma joined Harmanpreet but she never looked there because that is how the latter dominated the proceedings in the second half of the innings.
She scored century off just 90 balls, hitting 12 fours and two sixes. Those were some of the best shots played and it became an innings of class. She was not even done yet. She moved to 150 in just 17 more balls.
By the time her innings ended, she was still unbeaten on 171.
