Online Sports Desk
Indian women’s team captain Smriti Mandhana gave a standing ovation to her predecessor Harmanpreet Kaur as the latter brought up her eighth ODI hundred on Sunday, October 24, against Zimbabwe in the second game of the three-match series in Vadodara.
Since Smriti took over the leadership from Harmanpreet, speculation about their equation and rumours of a strained relationship have been in the spotlight. But a heartwarming moment between the two on Sunday stole the show.
During India’s second Women’s ODI against Zimbabwe at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, Smriti stood up to applaud Harmanpreet after she brought up her eighth ODI hundred.
India got off to a shaky start after losing Smriti and Shafali Verma cheaply. The newly appointed captain mistimed a pull shot in the opening over, while Shafali was caught at mid-wicket to hand Nomvelo Sibanda her second wicket.
Pratika Rawal (61 off 67 balls) and Harmanpreet stitched together a 124-run stand to steady India’s innings. The in-form opener was dismissed at deep mid-wicket in the 23rd over, while Tejal Hasabnis also couldn’t execute her slog sweep.
Harmanpreet then took centre stage with a well-paced knock, though she also benefited from being dropped thrice. The hundred marked her eighth in ODIs and the veteran batter appears to be relishing her new role without the added burden of leadership.
India couldn’t provide the strong finish they would have hoped for, with designated finisher Richa Ghosh departing cheaply and slowing the scoring rate.
Deepti brought up her second ODI hundred with a four through square leg in the final over, finishing her innings with 15 boundaries in total.
Given their batting struggles on the tour, Zimbabwe will need a significant improvement with the bat to challenge India’s imposing total.
