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Harmanpreet Kaur strengthened her legacy in Indian womens cricket with a brilliant 126 off 121 deliveries against Zimbabwe in the second ODI on Sunday, moving past former captain Mithali Raj to become Indias second-highest century-scorer in womens ODIs.
Her landmark knock, alongside Deepti Sharmas unbeaten 106 off 86 balls, powered India to an imposing 328/6 after they elected to bat first. The duo stitched together a 153-run partnership, helping the hosts recover from an early setback and take control of the innings. Harmanpreets eighth ODI century takes her to outright second place on Indias all-time list of womens ODI century-makers, behind Indian skipper Smriti Mandhana, who has 14 tons under her belt. Harmanpreets innings came to an end at 126 when Michelle Mavunga drew a mistimed shot down the ground, allowing substitute fielder Kudzai Chigora to complete the catch at long-off.India got off to a shaky start after opting to bat, losing Smriti Mandhana in the opening over before Shafali Verma departed soon after. Pratika Rawal then steadied the innings with a fluent 61 off 67 balls, sharing a 124-run partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur before falling in the 23rd over. Harmanpreet took charge after the early setbacks, striking 126 off 121 deliveries. She then combined with Deepti Sharma, who remained unbeaten on 106 off 86 balls, to add 153 runs and power India to a formidable 328/6. Deepti reached her second ODI century with a boundary in the final over, ensuring a strong finish for the hosts. India and Zimbabwe are facing each other in a bilateral womens ODI series for the first time. After posting an imposing 328/6, the hosts have set Zimbabwe a challenging target of 329 runs. (ANI)
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