Harmanpreet aims to take Indian women's cricket to new heights
What's the story
India's women's cricket team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, has set her sights on a bigger goal: to match and surpass global standards ahead of the 2025 ICC Women's ODI World Cup, which will be underway in September. Her ambition comes after a stellar performance in the third ODI against England, where she scored a brilliant century and led India to a 13-run victory. The win also helped India clinch the three-match series 2-1.
Match highlights
India beat England, win series 2-1
Harmanpreet's innings of 102 runs off 84 balls was the highlight of India's total of 318 for five. She shared a crucial 110-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored a quick-fire half-century. Smriti Mandhana and Harleen Deol also contributed with their respective scores of 45 each. Richa Ghosh provided a powerful finish to the innings with her explosive knock of 38 runs in just 18 balls.
Personal milestone
Century and 4,000 ODI runs for Harmanpreet
Harmanpreet's century came off 82 balls, making it the second-fastest ODI ton by an Indian woman after Smriti Mandhana's 70-ball knock earlier this year. The innings also made her the third Indian woman to score over 4,000 runs in ODIs. However, despite the personal achievement, Harmanpreet stressed that there is still a long way to go for India in women's cricket.
Future focus
Need to keep improving: Harmanpreet
Harmanpreet emphasized the need for continuous improvement in women's cricket. "This series will definitely give us a lot of confidence but, again, when we go back, we have to start again from ball one," Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation. The Indian skipper also acknowledged that while the team has shown glimpses of brilliance in recent years, consistency at the highest level is still a work in progress.
Team development
Indian skipper hopes to take women's cricket to new heights
Harmanpreet credited the team's improved fitness and professionalism as key factors behind their recent success. She said, "I'm really happy. All the girls are coming up with a positive mindset and working really hard on their fitness." "We're just trying to pass that benchmark and put ourselves in a position where people talk seriously about women's cricket."