BANW vs INDW: Harmanpreet Kaur slams her 11th WT20I fifty
Indian women's team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur played a fine knock against Bangladesh Women in the first WT20I in Mirpur. Harmanpreet clocked her 11th fifty in WT20Is and her third against Bangladesh in this format. Courtesy of her 35-ball 54*, India won the match by seven wickets as they chased down Bangladesh's total of 114/5 in only 16.2 overs. Here's more.
A very structured knock from Harmanpreet
Chasing 115, India were off to a scrappy start as they lost their first two wickets for only 21 runs inside four overs. Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana held the fort together by adding 70 runs in 55 balls. The veteran continued even after Mandhana's dismissal and took India over the line. Her knock of 54* was laced with six fours and two sixes.
A look at her WT20I numbers
Harmanpreet completed 3,100 runs in WT20Is. She becomes the fourth batter to do so. She has raced to 3,112 runs in 152 WT20Is at an average of 28.55. Besides the 11 fifties, she has smoked a solitary hundred in this format. Her highest score of 103 has come against New Zealand women's team. Against Bangladesh, she has amassed 338 runs in 13 WT20Is.
Third-most fifties as captain in WT20Is
With this knock, nine of Harmanpreet's WT20I fifties have come during her captaincy tenure. She now has the third-most fifties as captain in WT20Is. She is behind the likes of Suzie Bates (14), Meg Lanning and Charlotte Edwards (both 12) in this tally.
Fourth-highest run-getter in WT20Is
Harmanpreet is the fourth batter to cross 3,100 runs in WT20Is. She also has the fourth-highest runs in this format. Only Bates (3,864), Lanning (3,405), and Stafanie Taylor (3,166) are ahead of her in the runs tally.
How did the match shape up?
Bangladesh had a 27-run opening partnership after being invited to bat. However, Minnu Mani and Pooja Vastrakar dismissed Shamima Sultana and Shathi Rani to put India on top. Bangladesh further lost Nigar Sultana, Sobhana Mostary, and Ritu Moni, with the boundaries drying up. They eventually managed 114/5 in 20 overs. India lost Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues early, but Harmanpreet powered them through.
