New Delhi: Indian vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur struck a scintillating 115-ball unbeaten 171 runs against defending champions Australia to script India's 36-run victory in the second semi-final, at Derby, on Thursday. The Hurricane knock by the Punjab girl was summarised by her sister as – When she bats, it is like Virender Sehwag, but her aggression matches to that of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Indian eves were reduced to 35 for two in the 10th over, when Harmapreet Kaur walked towards the crease. She combined with captain Mithali Raj (36) to weave an important 66-run stand. After the latter's dismissal, she stitched a blistering 137-run partnership alongside 19-year-old Deepti Sharma.
With each boundary and six that she hit, celebrations were up and rolling at her hometown, Moga, in Punjab. While friends and well-wishers from all corners of the town poured into her house to congratulate her family, the younger generation danced to the beats of the Punjabi dhols to celebrate Kaur's record-breaking knock.
"Right from her childhood, she has been playing cricket with boys. Her hunger for runs never dies and this is reflected in her strike rate," said her sister Hemjit, to PTI.
"Harman is always positive. On the field, she always behaves like Virat Kohli and is aggressive like him. However, off-field, she is quite calm and composed. Right from her early days, she treated Virender Sehwag as her batting idol and even bats like him," she narrated.
About her unbeaten knock of 171, Hemjit remarked, "had it not been a rain-shortened match, she would have scored a double ton and inflicted more misery on the opposition."
Kaur, on Thursday, notched up her third one-day international ton. Her innings stitched with 20 boundaries and seven over-the-rope strikes, has now been termed as one of the greatest knocks by an Indian cricketer in World Cup stage. So much so, that people have even drawn comparisons with former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev and his unbeaten 175 against Zimbabwe, during India's 1983 Prudential Cup campaign.
"If Harman's innings is being compared with the legendary Kapil Dev, then it is a great honour for her," her sister added.
However, she said that to the 28-year-old, her father was a huge role model. A volleyball and a basketball player himself, Harmandar Singh, her father, also loved the gentlemen's game.
"Her first coach has been our father. He was a good cricketer, but due to some circumstances, he could not reach where he wanted to in the sport. But today he is able to realise his dream through his daughter," she said.
"We are all very proud of her feat. The nation is proud of her," Harmandar said. And so is her mother, Satwinder Kaur.
"When girls of her age would be carefree, she would sweat it out practicing for hours together. Even at home, she used to practice outside. We are proud of her," Satwinder said.
"The mindset in the society towards girls is changing and more and more parents are fully backing their daughters to achieve their goals," Hemjit concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
