10 facts about the Indian superstar batter Harmanpreet Kaur

The pressure was building upon the fiery Punjabi batter Harmanpreet Kaur, who had a tentative start personally in the ongoing World Cup. But she cut loose in the game against New Zealand and stitched a crucial stand with Veda Krishnamurthy to earn a memorable win. She followed it up with something astounding against Australia and spanked the 5th highest individual score in Women’s cricket history.

India are on the verge of making history and all they have to do is beat England at the Lord’s on Sunday, something which is easier said than done. This core side has been performing exceedingly well from the last one year and Harmanpreet has been an integral member of the team in this memorable run.

But her path to glory, like many of her teammates, has not been easy. Celebrating her exquisite rise from rags to riches, here are some facts about the batswoman that every Indian cricket admirer should verse themselves with.

1. Birth and early life

Born on March 8, 1989, in Moga, Punjab, Harmanpreet’s father Harmandar Singh Bhullar was a volleyball and basketball player. Her younger sister Hemjeet is a post-graduate in English and works as an assistant professor at Guru Nanak College in Moga. Her mother Satwinder Kaur is a house-wife.

2. Travelled 30 km every day to learn cricket

She was always keen to learn cricket in her childhood. She joined the Gian Jyoti School Academy, 30 kilometres away from her residence in Moga, where she trained under Kamaldeesh Singh Sodhi.

3. Selection into Moga district team

Hard work always gets pays off and she got selected in the Moga district team. Through this team, she played the first big tournament of her career, Punjab’s Inter-District tournament. She later went on to represent the Punjab Ranji team as well.

4. ODI debut in 2009 World Cup

Decent performances at the Ranji level earned her a place in the Indian side that was to compete in the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup. Her debut came against the arch rivals Pakistan, which turned out to be a memorable one and India won the game by 10 wickets. She made her T20 debut in the same year against England at Taunton.

5. Inspired by Sehwag

Harmanpreet found her cricketing inspiration in the swashbuckling Indian opener Virender Sehwag. Fans can easily make out why she admires the legendary cricketer as she herself is an aggressor par excellence.

6. Captained the side in 2012 Women’s Asia Cup

Skipper Mithali Raj and vice-captain Jhulan Goswami were injured before the 2012 Women’s Asia Cup commenced and this paved way for Harmanpreet to take charge. She had a significant impact on the side and they won the tournament beating Pakistan by 18 runs in the final.

7. A forgettable Test debut

She made her Test debut in 2014 against England and the longer version didn’t seem to suit her style of play. Though her record in the limited-overs was brilliant, she could manage just a 9 and a duck in her first Test. Harmanpreet scored 26 runs in the two Test matches.

8. Impressive limited-overs statistics

Harman has played 65 ODI innings till date in which she has smashed 1974 runs including three centuries and nine fifties. In T20 Internationals, the 28-year-old has scored a total of 1223 runs in 60 innings which include just four half-centuries.

9. First Indian to represent a Big Bash franchise

In June 2016, she signed a contract with Australia’s domestic T20 tournament Big Bash League franchise Sydney Thunder. By doing so, she became the first ever Indian cricketer to sign up for an International T20 League, amongst men and women.

10. Highest individual score in World Cups for India

Her splendid knock of 171 off 115 balls against Australia is the highest score registered by an Indian batter in Women’s World Cup. This was only the second century recorded in knock-outs history of WWC after Karen Rolton had scored 107 in the 2005 edition’s final against India.