Harmanpreet Guides India To Women’s World Cup Finale      

Derby: Harmanpreet Kaur produced one of the greatest ever ODI knocks in women's cricket as India stormed into the ICC World Cup final, demolishing Australia by 36 runs in the semifinal on Thursday.

It is only the second time that India have entered the summit clash of the global event, having lost to Australia in the final of the 2005 edition. Skipper Mithali Raj and senior pacer Jhulan Goswami were part of the Indian team which had lost then in Centurion. The 'Women In Blue' will meet hosts England in the final at the Lord's on Sunday.

The Indian vice-captain smashed her way to a career-best magical 171 off 115 balls, leaving the Australian bowlers in a daze as India put up an imposing 281 for 4 after rain reduced the match to 42-overs a side. This was India's highest ever total against the Southern Stars and proved to be match-winning even as Alex Blackwell's power-packed 90 took them to 245 in 40.1 overs. The day belonged to Harmanpreet as her innings could well be termed as one which will be remembered for years to come. It drew comparisons with Kapil Dev's historic 175 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells during the 1983 campaign with members of the men's team, including skipper Virat Kohli, showering accolades on her.

The Indian vice-captain smashed her way to a career-best magical 171 off 115 balls, leaving the Australian bowlers in a daze as India put up an imposing 281 for 4 after rain reduced the match to 42-overs a side

Harmanpreet's third ODI century was embellished with 20 fours and as many as seven sixes. It was also the second highest individual score in ODIs for India behind Deepti Sharma's unbeaten 188 against South Africa earlier this year. With enough runs on the board, confident Indian seamers Goswami (2/35 in 8 overs) and Shikha Pandey (2/17 in 6 overs) came up with brilliant opening spells.

The Derby Ground proved to be a happy hunting one for Mithali Raj and her team as they won all five matches here. It was out of the world power-hitting by the girl from Moga district in Punjab something that has made her a stand-out player for India. The milestone from 51 to 100 was reached in 26 balls while she raced to 150 from 101 in mere 17 balls. The sixes flew from her bat with monotonic regularity as the Aussie bowlers had no clue as to what hit them.

PTI