3 things changed in women's cricket after Harmanpreet Kaur's historic 171 vs Australia
On this day (July 20), seven years ago, Harmanpreet Kaur wreaked havoc against Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2017. India Women won the toss and chose to bat first after the game was reduced to 42 overs due to rain. However, things didn't go in their favor for India, as they lost two wickets (Smriti Mandhana and Punam Raut) within 10 overs.
Captain Mithali Raj (36) then stitched a 66-run partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur for the third wicket. Raj’s wicket left India at 101-3 after 25 overs. Harmanpreet brought up her fifty in 64 balls.
The Punjab player took 26 balls to score the next 50 runs, as she scored a brilliant century in 90 balls. After that, Kaur went berserk and remained unbeaten on 171 off just 115. She hit 20 boundaries and seven sixes in her innings as India put up 281.
In response, Elyse Villani (75) and Alex Blackwell (90) fought hard but couldn’t get their team over the line as they fell 36 runs short. Deepti Sharma took three wickets for India.
Unfortunately, Team India lost by nine runs in the final against England, but Harmanpreet Kaur's magical innings changed Indian cricket. Here are three ways:
How Harmanpreet Kaur's 171 changed women's cricket
#1 Increase in popularity and viewership
According to data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India, ratings for the World Cup final between India Women and Englan Women on July 23, 2017, broke an all-time high of 19.533 million impressions (all India) thanks to Harmanpreet Kaur's historic 171 in the semi-final.
Even though Team India lost, the event had a positive impact on women's cricket in the country. The Women in Blue also reached the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup. A remarkable 5.4 billion viewing minutes were recorded for the tournament across India, according to viewership data released by the ICC, as reported by Times of India.
#2 Increase in media coverage with players getting recognized
After Harmanpreet Kaur's innings, there was a noticeable improvement in the media's coverage of women's cricket. More in-depth coverage of women's matches by journalists and media outlets began to focus on player performances, team tactics and match analysis.
This enhanced coverage made sure that outstanding performances got the credit they deserved and helped raise the profile of women's cricket. With the start of the Women's Premier League in 2023, more players are getting a chance to showcase their talent and getting the recognition they deserve.
#3 Equal pay for centrally contracted players for both men and women
Equal compensation for all centrally contracted men's and women's Team India cricket players was declared by the BCCI in October 2022. BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted:
"I'm pleased to announce BCCI's first step towards tackling discrimination. We are implementing a pay equity policy for our contracted women cricketers. The match fee for both Men and Women Cricketers will be the same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Indian Cricket.
"The women cricketers will be paid the same match fee as their male counterparts. Test (INR 15 lakhs), ODI (INR 6 lakhs), T20I (INR 3 lakhs). Pay equity was my commitment to our women cricketers and I thank the Apex Council for their support," he continued.
The Indian team is participating in the Women's Asia Cup 2024, where they beat Pakistan in their first game by seven wickets on Friday, July 20.