INDW vs ENGW: Indian Women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Saturday scripted history when she took the field in her team's match against England. Table toppers from Group B- India and England are fighting out at St George's Park, Gqeberha to consolidate their spots in the semifinals. India opted to bowl first as the overhead conditions favoured seam bowling. Meanwhile, as Kaur stepped out on the field, she shattered Rohit Sharma's World record.
Harmanpreet surpasses Rohit Sharma
India women's team captain Kaur has surpassed her counterpart Rohit Sharma to become the most capped International Player in T20Is. She had earlier featured in 148 T20Is, which was equal to Sharma. But she made her 149th T20I appearance against England women in the Group B match of the Women's T20 World Cup 2023.
In Women's cricket, New Zealand's Suzie Bates is the next player with the most T20I matches. Bates has featured in 142 matches. Notably, the next Indian in the list is Smriti Mandhana, who has played in 114 T20I games.
India won the toss and opted to bowl first. England scored a decent 151-run total as nat Sciver and Amy Jones starred. Even though Renuka scalped a fifer, England kept scoring runs at a brisk rate to go past the 150 mark. India did bowl well but were punished when they bowled badly. Renuka accounted for the first three wickets but Sciver and Knight stabilised things for England. Sciver smashed a fifty but was caught out immediately after that. In the end, Jones helped England finish over 150. For India, Renuka Thakur was the star as she picked her maiden T20I fifer. She also has second-best figures for India in T20Is, behind India's great Jhulan Goswami.
India's Playing XI:
Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Shikha Pandey, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur Singh
England's Playing XI:
Sophia Dunkley, Danielle Wyatt, Alice Capsey, Nat Sciver Brunt, Heather Knight(c), Amy Jones(w), Katherine Sciver Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Charlotte Dean, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell