India legendary player Jhulan Goswami called the toss in her farewell match against England at Lord's on Saturday. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jhulan came for the toss and stood alongside England captain Amy Jones.
India sealed the three-match series which is their first in England in 23 years. They gave a perfect send-off to Jhulan, who played international cricket for two decades.
During a team huddle before the game, Harmanpreet got emotional and was seen crying as the side was set to bid farewell to India's finest pacer.
In her international career, the 39-year-old Jhulan has played 12 Test matches and has scalped 44 wickets, and scored 291 runs. In the 203 ODIs that she played, she scored 1128 runs and picked 253 wickets. When it comes to the T20 format, she has played 68 matches and has taken 56 wickets, and registered a total of 405 runs.
In her last match, Jhulan was given a heartwarming welcome.
Jhulan's teammates shared emotional and heartfelt messages for her ahead of her last match.
Jhulan Goswami's commitment to the game was such that she would "spit fire" even while bowling in the nets, and at the receiving end of it often was her longtime teammate and captain, Mithali Raj said.
"We are of the same age, so we have that comfort level and communication. It was always very easy to reach out to her and speak to her. Someone who was always high on energy on the ground, maybe because she is a fast bowler," Mithali told PTI.
"In the nets, I would often ask her 'why are you spitting fire, you are my teammate only na'. Then she would say 'to get out is the toughest. She always had a competitive streak including domestic cricket where we played against each other often. I enjoyed that rivalry as well," she added.
India won the third ODI by 16 runs and registered a historic clean sweep to give perfect farewell to Jhulan.
In her last match, Jhulan was dismissed on a golden duck. However, the Chakada Express bid Adieu in style by scalping two wickets and becoming the first woman to bowl 10000 deliveries in ODIs.
