In an unwanted recall from this year's T20 World Cup semi-final, India women captain Harmanpreet Kaur fell to another freak run out on Day 1 of the Navi Mumbai Test against England Women. Harmanpreet was returning to the crease after her partner denied a single but her bat got stuck barely centimeters behind the crease when a direct hit from Amy Jones connected. Harmanpreet was run out for 49, one short of what would have been the maiden fifty of her Test career.
Having said that, there was drama all around. As the ball ricocheted off the bails, Harmanpreet and her partner Yastika Bhatia completed a single via an overthrow. The decision went up to the third umpire but surprisingly, even before the outcome appeared on the big screen, the broadcaster flashed Harmanpreet's fifty. Her teammates didn't realise the seriousness of the situation either and stood up to applaud their skipper before their premature celebration was cut short.
Watch the video below:
The big red OUT flashed on the screen and off walked Harman with a dejected look on her face. The run out brought back painful memories of India women's T20 World Cup semis against Australia when an exact same dismissal led to her wicket, triggering a batting collapse as Australia went on to win the contest by five runs. There too, Harman's bat had got stuck. The similarity between these two run outs got people on X calling Harmanpreet 'unlucky'.
{{/usCountry}}The big red OUT flashed on the screen and off walked Harman with a dejected look on her face. The run out brought back painful memories of India women's T20 World Cup semis against Australia when an exact same dismissal led to her wicket, triggering a batting collapse as Australia went on to win the contest by five runs. There too, Harman's bat had got stuck. The similarity between these two run outs got people on X calling Harmanpreet 'unlucky'.
{{/usCountry}}Watch the run out below:
Harmanpreet's exit sure was unfortunate but she would be elated with her team's performance on Thursday as India Women finished the day on a record score of 410/7 – the highest ever scored by them on Day 1 of a Test match and the second-highest overall behind England's 431/4 almost a century ago in 1935. The innings witnessed as many as four batters recording half-centuries. Youngster Shubha Sateesh scored 69 off just 76 balls – the fastest fifty by an Indian in Tests – while fellow debutant Jemimah Rodrigues too chipped in with a 99-ball 68.
"Very happy to be here, it's an amazing feeling. Out of words, it was fantastic to contribute on debut. We (Jemimah and herself) have batted together during our Under 19 days, it was another good partnership between us. Happy with the score," Shubha said at stumps.
Yastika was out for 66 off 88 balls but Deepti Sharma remains unbeaten on 60 with Pooja Vastrakar being the other unbeaten batter who will resume proceedings on Day 2, hoping to take India closer and hopefully, beyond the 450-run mark. The only two players who couldn't get going were openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Varma, both getting out cheaply for 17 and 19 respectively.
"This is a very good score to end with 400 runs on the board. Nobody got a hundred, but we had many 100-plus partnerships, says a lot about the team effort. We would take this any day. Will try to score big the next time. The plan is to bat in the same way (tomorrow), we are batting at 4-plus runs in an over. Will try to add few more runs and the bowlers can put the pressure back on England," said Jemimah.