3 reasons why Harmanpreet Kaur's 171* in 2017 is the greatest ODI knock by an Indian
On this day, July 20, 2017, Harmanpreet Kaur smashed a brilliant 171* off 115 balls in the Women's ODI World Cup semi-final between India and Australia at County Ground in Derby. Indian captain Mithali Raj won the toss and decided to bat first in the knockout clash.
Coming into bat at No. 4, Harmanpreet smashed as many as 20 fours and seven sixes in her spectacular innings. The right-handed batter was the dominant partner in a third-wicket stand of 66 with Mithali (36) and a fourth-wicket alliance of 137 with all-rounder Deepti Sharma (25). Courtesy of Harmanpreet’s exploits, India put up an impressive 281/4 in a match reduced to 42 overs per side.
Deepti (3/59), Jhulan Goswami (2/35), and Shikha Pandey (2/17) then played key roles with the ball as Australia were bowled out for 245 in 40.1 overs despite valiant knocks from Alex Blackwell (90 off 56) and Elyse Villani (75 off 58).
While the bowlers did a great job, Harmanpreet was undoubtedly the architect of one of India’s finest wins in a World Cup clash.
On the anniversary of her iconic knock, we analyze three reasons why her 171* should rank as the greatest ODI knock by an Indian batter - male or female.
#1 The big occasion
One of the biggest reasons why Harmanpreet’s knock should rank at the top of the list among Indian batters is because of the massive occasion on which it was scored. She chose the World Cup semi-final to play a blinder of a knock.
There have been many instances of Indian teams crumbling under pressure in a knockout World Cup encounter before and after Harmanpreet’s stunning effort. The knock thus stands out like a colossus among a barrage of disappointments.
There was immense pressure on India heading into the 2017 World Cup semi-final at Derby. There were termed underdogs because of their poor record in ICC events.
And when Smriti Mandhana (6) and Punam Raut (14) fell cheaply, leaving India in trouble at 35/2 in the 10th over, there were concerns over another batting collapse in the offing.
171* runs💥 171* runs
💥 115 balls
💥 20 fours
💥 7 sixes
#OnThisDay in 2017, Harmanpreet Kaur recorded the highest individual score by an Indian batter in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup! pic.twitter.com/hPMJu1ROyo
Harmanpreet, however, came in and absorbed the pressure brilliantly to turn the screws on Australia. Her blazing knock should not only rank among the best by an Indian batter in ODIs, but among the finest performances ever in the history of one-day cricket.
#2 The quality of the opposition
When we look at the best knocks by Indian batters in ODI cricket, Kapil Dev’s 175* off 138 balls against Zimbabwe in Tunbridge Wells in the league stage of the 1983 World Cup definitely comes to mind. MS Dhoni’s ice-cool 91* off 79 balls in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai also instantly makes the shortlist.
Both these knocks are iconic when it comes to India’s cricket history. Kapil came into bat with India having crumbled to 17/5. His outstanding innings not only lifted the team to a morale-boosting victory but is often termed as a turning point in India's 1983 World Cup campaign, which they went on to win and create history.
Dhoni’s knock also came with India under intense pressure in a chase of 275. He showed an unflappable temperament to lift India to ODI World Cup glory for the first time in 28 years. Harmanpreet’s knock, however, stands just a little above Kapil and MSD because of the quality of opposition she was against.
With all due respect to Kapil and Dhoni, they had it slightly easier compared to Harmanpreet, who stood up against an Aussie attack featuring Megan Schutt, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, and Jess Jonassen.
#3 The breathtaking nature of Harmanpreet’s stroke play
Another reason why Harmanpreet’s knock ranks above other legendary Indian ODI batting performances is the breathtaking nature of stroke play that she displayed against a high-class bowling attack.
Few people have struck the ball as cleanly as the current Indian Women’s captain did during her epic knock against Australia in the 2017 World Cup semi-final in Derby. Almost every time she decided to go after the bowling, she found the boundary. It just seemed that she was destined to play that great knock.
What also needs to be remembered is that the right-hander battled a lot of pain during the spectacular effort, yet never showed it out in the middle.
Former teammate Jhulan Goswami revealed to ESPNcricinfo in 2020:
“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!”
“Thank you very much, Jemimah and congratulations.”
“Harmanpreet Kaur, thank you.”
pic.twitter.com/ajNpsypwUV
Truly, Harmanpreet’s 171* in the 2017 World Cup semis is worthy of being ranked as the greatest ODI knock by an Indian.