Harmanpreet Kaur injures her shoulder, doubtful for final
India middle-order bat Harmanpreet Kaur has injured her right shoulder while practicing in the nets on the eve of the Women's World Cup 2017 final against England at Lord's.
Kaur looked extremely uncomfortable and members of the support staff were seen catering to her.
The 28-year-old has been an integral part of the India batting line-up and most recently played a match-defining knock of 171* in the semi-final against the defending champions Australia.
Kaur's was the highest individual score registered by a female India cricketer in a World Cup and was the second-highest individual score by any Indian player ever in the history of the women's game.
No clarity has prevailed on the extent of the injury, but from the visuals available Kaur looked to be in some discomfort.
Should she miss out of the final to be played at Lord's tomorrow, India would be dealt with a body blow and would lose perhaps their most potent bat of the tournament based on recent form.
Kaur received some icing on the shoulder since the injury and did not bat in the nets again. However, skipper Mithali Raj has said that the Kaur would be available for the final and that the icing applied was precautionary to deal with niggles.
Raj and Kaur have been two of India's most successful run-scorers this tournament. While Raj scored a hundred in a potential quarterfinal against New Zealand, Kaur stepped up to the occasion when it mattered the most - against the reigning, defending world champions.
Raj also broke the record for most runs in women's ODI cricket and breached the 6000-run mark, thereby becoming the first woman to reach the milestone.
England defeated South Africa in a tense encounter in Bristol and would look to avenge the loss that they suffered at the hands of the Indians in their tournament opener.
India, on the other hand, would take confidence from the way they performed against the English in the league game and would look to replicate their performance.
Apart from Raj and Kaur, the likes of Smriti Mandhana and Veda Krishnamurthy have also been decent with the bat and a lot would be expected of them in the final.
Punam Raut, the 19-year-old opening bat, who already has a hundred this World Cup, would be expected to compensate for Mandhana's lack of form -- since the first match against England when she'd scored a centu.
The Indian batting line-up looks settled for now, unless, of course, Kaur's injury aggravates to an extent that it becomes impossible for her to take part in the competition.