Harmanpreet Kaur achieves rare feat in 3rd ODI vs England Women

Indian women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur achieves a rare feat in the 3rd ODI match against England Women. Kaur smashed her first ODI century since June 2024.

Harmanpreet Kaur (Image Credit: BCCI Women)

Indian women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur slammed a brilliant century against England in the 3rd ODI at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street. She gave a befitting answer to all the trolls and criticisms that were surfacing over the past few months. Kaur brought up her century in just 82 balls, becoming the second-fastest Indian to score a hundred in women's ODIs. Moreover, this century came after a gap of one year, as she had last hit a ton in June 2024.

Interestingly, Kaur became the first visiting batter to hit three centuries on the English soil in ODI's history. Hence, the excitement of the celebration increased for the Indian captain. Kaur scored 102 runs off 84 balls, smashing 14 boundaries. Kaur started off slow, but then converted her innings really fast. This innings will go down as one of the best in her career.

Meanwhile, in this series decider, India have put up 318 runs for England to chase. While the target is huge, the hosts will surely struggle to achieve it. It was Indian skipper Kaur's decision to bat first after winning the toss. The openers started off well, putting on a 64-run partnership. However, in the 13th over Pratika Rawal was dismissed while batting on 26 runs.

Soon after her dismissal, Smriti Mandhana followed her back to the pavilion. At one stage it looked like India are in deep trouble. But Harleen Deol (45) and Kaur stitched a 61-run partnership, boosting the confidence of the rest of the batters. After Deol's wicket, Jemimah Rodriguez came in and smashed a half-century in 45 balls, including seven boundaries. With a total team effort, the Women in Blue were able to put a mammoth total on the board.

As we write, England have already gone past 150 runs in 33 overs. With just 140 runs required in the last 17 overs and seven wickets in hand, the hosts have a strong chance of sealing the series.

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