Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s final over heroics saved the day for India in the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers against South Africa.
Kaur hit the penultimate ball of the match for a six and a very tight double on the final ball to seal a nail-biting one-wicket win over the opponents.
India needed nine runs in the final over when Poonam Yadav got out on the first ball of the over. India’s prospects increasingly looked bleak after a couple of dot balls had India needing 8 runs off two balls.
That’s when Harmanpreet blasted one over the boundary rope bringing India right back into the match. She ran a risky double on the final ball, managing to complete the run hurtling back into her crease.
Chasing a score of 245, Mona Meshram and Deepti Sharma made important contributions of 59 and 71 respectively. Harmanpreet scored 44.
India also beat South Africa in the super six stage of the qualifiers. Both India and South Africa were already assured of a place in the world cup regardless of which way the final went.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the other teams to have qualified to join Australia, New Zealand, England and West Indies to play the Women’s World Cup later this year in England.
