Harmanpreet Kaur is very tough to bowl to, wherever we bowled, she was finding boundary: Amy Jones

India women made history at Canterbury, England on Wednesday (21 September) as the Women in Blue defeated England by 88 runs to win the three-match ODI series. This is for the first time since 1999 when the Indian women went on to win an ODI series on English soil and it was the Indian captain who lead the way for this monumental series win.

Harmanpreet Kaur smashed 143 off 111 balls and smashed all the bowlers in style. She helped India put a target of 334 runs which the English women couldn’t chase down. Amy Jones, the captain of the England team was very impressed with Harmanpreet’s innings and in the post-match conference revealed that the team faced a lot of difficulties bowling to the 33-year-old.

“Every loss is tough and they got away from us at the end with the bat. Harman batted extremely well. We didn't get close enough, didn't get partnerships,” said Amy Jones at the post-match presentation.

“She (Harmanpreet) is very tough to bowl to, and for our young talents, this is a good learning. Wherever we bowled, she was finding the boundary,” she added.

A fairytale of an end for Jhulan Goswami

Regarded as one of the greatest women’s bowlers of all time, Jhulan Goswami at the age of 39 will be retiring from all formats of the game after the third ODI against England. In the 283 international matches that she played, the talented pacer bagged 353 wickets to her name. Thus, she announcing her retirement, is a massive setback for Indian cricket.

However, a series win in England for the first time in 23 years is probably a fitting goodbye for the legendary cricketer. The third match at the Lord’s will be her last international match as confirmed by team captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

“Yeah, I think so (on Jhulan Goswami’s retirement after the last ODI). We’ll miss her for sure and have been learning a lot from her. Every cricketer wants to play at Lord’s and it’s going to be special for her to retire there,” Harmanpreet Kaur said after beating England by 88 runs.