Harmanpreet Kaur's performance in 2017 World Cup semifinal despite physical pain is unbelievable, reveals Jhulan Goswami

01/02/2020

Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami recalled on Harmanpreet Kaur's famous 171* versus Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2017 at Derby. Goswami said that Harmanpreet was in tremendous pain but miraculously she continued to smack fours and sixes to help India beat Australia.

Harmanpreet Kaur had played one of the finest innings ever by an Indian woman cricketer when she smashed an unbeaten 171 against Australia at Derby in the semifinal of the 2017 WOmen's Cricket World Cup. Australia were favourites going in the game but Harmanpreet completely took the game away from them and despite suffering from pain in the latter part of her innings she continued to battle her way to a hundred and beyond and this is exactly what mesmerized her teammate Jhulan Goswami.

"'twas a really thrilling performance, because we did not expect something like that. Perhaps neither did Australia. Yes, Harman is a very good cricketer, a talented cricketer, who can clear the boundary with ease. But the way she performed that day given the kind of physical pain she was in because of the multiple injuries she was carrying was unbelievable," Goswami wrote in her column for ESPNCricinfo.

"She was struggling with a lot of niggles - finger, shoulder, wrist, this, that - but she came out and turned that match on its head and made it a really significant knock in women's cricket. What an innings!" she added.

The Indian women's team had a wonderful journey in the 2017 World Cup, right from opener Smriti Mandhana scoring important runs at the top of the order all the way to that important knock by Harmanpreet. Skipper Mithali Raj led the team really well to the final and although the team fell agonisingly short of winning the title, they had already changed the fate of women's cricket in India and it began to get more recognition.

"Smriti setting it off with important innings in the first two matches, and while Harman was struggling to get runs, Sushma , Veda , Punam all chipping in. Mithali played one of the best innings of her career, a match-winning hundred, in the virtual quarter-final [against New Zealand] and then Harman came up with this innings in the semi-finals," she stated.

We lost the final, yes, and it still hurts, but these are things you remember - and that 171 is one of them."