Harmanpreet Kaur became India women’s outright highest run-scorer in T20 World Cups on Sunday (June 14) while batting against Pakistan at Edgbaston. She started the match jointly at the top at 726 runs with Mithali Raj and went past the former captain on her first ball.
The number four batter was called upon early as India lost Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues within the first 20 balls.
Shafali Verma’s stay lasted just six runs. After dispatching left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal for a six, the opener was undone by the very next challenge as the bowler cramped her for room with a delivery angling into the stumps, inducing an edge that was safely collected by wicketkeeper Muneeba Ali.
Jemimah Rodrigues fared no better, managing only one run during
a scratchy innings. Looking to take on left-arm seamer Tasmia Rubab, she attempted an ambitious lofted shot but mistimed it badly, offering a simple chance that Natalia Pervaiz held on to at the second attempt.
Harmanpreet’s first ball was a full-toss on the middle and leg stumps, and she easily flicked it to the deep for a single.
| Player | Span | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harmanpreet Kaur | 2009-2026 | 34* | 732* | 103 | 25.24* | 111.41* | 1* | 4* | 70* | 19* |
| Mithali Raj | 2009-2018 | 23 | 726 | 57 | 40.33 | 97.31 | 0 | 5 | 79 | 1 |
| Smriti Mandhana | 2014-2026 | 26 | 550 | 87 | 22.91 | 114.82 | 0 | 4 | 70 | 11 |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | 2018-2026 | 20 | 408 | 59 | 22.66 | 109.97 | 0 | 2 | 41 | 1 |
| Poonam Raut | 2009-2014 | 15 | 375 | 56 | 31.25 | 90.57 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 0 |
| Shafali Verma | 2020-2026 | 15 | 368 | 47 | 24.53 | 125.17 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 11 |
| Deepti Sharma | 2018-2026 | 14 | 218 | 49* | 24.22 | 96.46 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Richa Ghosh | 2020-2026 | 11 | 187 | 47* | 26.71 | 113.33 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| Sulakshana Naik | 2009-2012 | 11 | 170 | 59 | 17.00 | 93.40 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1 |
| Veda Krishnamurthy | 2016-2020 | 13 | 158 | 36* | 19.75 | 111.26 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
What Harmanpreet Kaur said at the toss
Earlier, Harmanpreet won the toss and opted to bat first.
“I think it’s a very good pitch to bat on, so we just thought, let’s bat and set a decent total on the board,” she said at the toss. “Well, I think we are all very excited. The last World Cup definitely gave us a lot of confidence, and we just want to carry that confidence to this World Cup. Yes, definitely [pleased with the buildup]. We have plugged a lot of areas, and now it’s only about playing good cricket, and we are looking forward to that. Bharti’s playing today. And yeah, Yastika did really well, but today we thought of going with Bharti. We are going with three spinners and two medium pacers.”
