Vadodara: Harmanpreet Kaur made a high quality 126 off 121 balls and Deepti Sharma also scored a brisk hundred (106 not out), anchoring India to 328 for six in the second Women’s ODI against Zimbabwe Sunday.
Harmanpreet regaled a sizable crowd with her sublime play on the off-side. Her copybook cover drives and cut shots were a delight to watch.
The former India captain shared a 153-run stand with all-rounder Deepti, whose knock came off 86 balls, as the two veterans took India to a compelling total.
It is the first time that India and Zimbabwe are playing a bilateral series, providing the visitors an ideal opportunity to learn from a top side.
India did not have the best of starts as Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma fell cheaply. Newly-appointed captain Mandhana mistimed a pull in the first over of the game before Shafali was caught at mid-wicket, giving Nomvelo Sibanda her second wicket.
Pratika Rawal (61 off 67) and Harmanpreet forged a 124-run partnership to take the innings forward. The prolific Indian opener was caught at deep mid-wicket in the 23rd over. Tejal Hasanbis too could not execute the slog sweep.
Harmanpreet then owned the stage with her perfectly paced knock. She also had luck on her side, having been dropped thrice. It was Harmanpreet’s eighth ODI hundred and she seems to be enjoying life without the extra responsibility of captaining the side.
India were not able to finish as well as they would have liked. India’s designated finisher Richa Ghosh did not last long, putting the brakes on the scoring.
Deepti reached her second ODI hundred with a four towards square leg in the final over of the innings. Overall, she hit 15 boundaries.
Considering their struggles with the bat on the tour, Zimbabwe would need a major improvement to get close to India’s total.
