PCA to honor Harmanpreet Kaur with Mullanpur Stadium stand: Details
What's the story
Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has decided to honor India's women's cricket team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, by naming a stand after her at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium in Mullanpur. The announcement was made by the star all-rounder herself during the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year Awards ceremony. The event was graced by former Indian cricketers Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami as well.
Statement
Harmanpreet confirms the news
Confirming the news at the event, Kaur said: "I have already received a letter from PCA saying that they will soon unveil a stand after me at Mullanpur." Notably, the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) inaugurated the "Mithali Raj Stand" and "Raavi Kalpana Stand" at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam last month. Harmanpreet is hence now set to join these names.
Historic achievement
Kaur's journey to World Cup victory
Kaur's leadership saw India clinch their first ICC title in women's cricket last month, ending a decades-long wait. She is only the fourth Indian captain to win a senior-level cricket World Cup, after Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. "Lifting the World Cup was a dream we cherished since childhood," Kaur said while thanking Jay Shah for his contributions to women's cricket and initiatives like pay parity and Women's Premier League.
Previous attempts
India's journey to the World Cup trophy
Before this victory, India had reached the WODI World Cup finals in 2005 and 2017 but ended up as runners-up on both occasions. The team's latest World Cup campaign started with a confident win over co-hosts Sri Lanka and a dominant win over Pakistan. However, they faced a rough patch with three narrow defeats against South Africa (by three wickets), Australia (by three wickets) and England (by four runs). They bounced back in the latter stages and tasted glory.