After stepping down from India captaincy Harmanpreet Kaur has hit sublime form in white-ball cricket. She followed up her unbeaten 91 in the final T20I against Zimbabwe in Raipur with a stroke-filled century in the second ODI against the same opponents in Vadodara on Sunday.
Kaur's 126 runs from 121 balls helped the Smriti Mandhana-led Indian team pile up a mammoth 328/6 in 50 overs batting first. Kaur picked up the reins of the innings after Mandhana and the in-form Shafali Verma were both dismissed cheaply and India were down to 19/2.
The century holds greater significance for Kaur. With her 8th ODI ton, she surpassed the legendary Mithali Raj to become India's second-highest century maker in women's ODIs after Mandhana, who has 14 centuries to her name . This was also Kaur's second century of this calendar year, after her 106-run knock vs England earlier this year. This is the first time since 2022 that Harmanpreet Kaur has smashed multiple hundreds in a single calendar year.
She initially absorbed the pressure to stabilize the innings after the early double blow, before seamlessly shifting gears to accelerate the run rate. She did not go for risky aerial shots, but kept the run flow going with efficient running between the wickets and boundaries. In fact, she hit 15 fours and not a single six in her innings. She brought up the three-figure mark in 101 deliveries.ALSO READ: What happened in BCCI meeting that led to Harmanpreet stepping down
Deepti Sharma gives perfect company to Harmanpreet Kaur
{{/usCountry}}She initially absorbed the pressure to stabilize the innings after the early double blow, before seamlessly shifting gears to accelerate the run rate. She did not go for risky aerial shots, but kept the run flow going with efficient running between the wickets and boundaries. In fact, she hit 15 fours and not a single six in her innings. She brought up the three-figure mark in 101 deliveries.ALSO READ: What happened in BCCI meeting that led to Harmanpreet stepping down
Deepti Sharma gives perfect company to Harmanpreet Kaur
{{/usCountry}}Following Harmanpreet Kaur's impeccable century, star all-rounder Deepti Sharma continued the momentum for the India team. Coming out to bat with clear aggressive intent, Sharma perfectly finished the innings, as she too scored a century. She ended the innings with an unbeaten 106 runs from just 86 balls. She reached the three-figure mark in a blistering 83 deliveries, thus bringing up the second ODI century of her career.
With Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur forged a brilliant partnership of 153 runs for the fifth wicket. This defining partnership is now the highest fifth-wicket stand for India in women's ODIs. The previous record was held by the pair of Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues of 122 runs.