The focus now shifts from the just concluded Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup 2023 to the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup 2023 which is scheduled to take place in South Africa from February 10 to February 26. The marquee tournament will see 10 teams, including three former champions, battling out for the coveted title. In the eighth edition of the tournament, the ten teams will be divided into two groups of five and each team will face each team of their respective group in single round-robin format with the top two teams progressing to the knock-out round. Defending and record champions Australia have been drawn alongside hosts South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Group 1, while India are grouped along with 2009 winner England, 2016 winner West Indies, Pakistan and Ireland in Group 2.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on India who missed their shot to title in the last edition of the Women's T20 World Cup where they succumbed to Australia. This time around Harmanpreet Kaur will be leading the Indian pack, who in 2018 edition helped India post a their highest score in the history of the Women's T20 World Cup and second highest overall. Let's walk down the memory lane and know more about the historical match.
When India were in deep trouble
Batting first India didn't get the best of start. India's star opener Tania Bhatia and Smriti Mandhana were sent to pavilion cheaply at the scores of 9 and 2 respectively which left the team wobbling at 22/2. Batting next were Dayalan Hemalatha Jemimah Rodrigues but the former was dismissed for just 15 runs. Then walked in the skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who came to Jemimah's support to steer India past 100 and then took it beyond 150.
Harman turned beast with splendid century
India had lost three wickets within 40 runs, but Harmanpreet paired up with Jemimah to weave a partnership of 134 runs for the fourth wicket, taking the Indian team's score to 194/5 in the stipulated 20 overs. Skipper Harmanpreet completed her fifty in just 33 balls. She didn't stop there as he struck the next 50 runs in mere 16 balls. Her 51-ball blitzkrieg was decorated with seven fours and eight sixes. This was Harman's maiden T20I century. At the same time, she also became the first woman to score a century in T20I for India. Jemimah's fourth half-century of her career also came handy for India.
India posted second highest total in T20 World Cup
Riding on Harmanpreet's stunning ton, India posted a huge total of 194/5 in the stipulated 20 overs, which was then the highest total and now the second highest total in Women's T20 World Cup history so far. At the same time, Harmanpreet became the third woman cricketer in the world to score a century in the T20 World Cup. Earlier, the record of highest individual score was against Mithali Raj's name (97 not out).
Talking about the match, while chasing India's giganting target New Zealand team could only manage to score 160/9 in 20 overs. India clinched the match by 34 runs. Suzy Bates remained the top scorer for New Zealand with 67 off 50 in which she struck eight fours. Beside Bates, Katey Martin also chipped in with 39 off 25 in which she belted eight fours. From India, Hemalatha and Poonam Raut picked three wickets each for the winning cause.
South Africa broke the record
However, exactly two years later in the T20 World Cup 2020 South African women's team broke India's record of highest total in the marquee tournament as they posted a huge 195 runs against the Thailand women's team. The South African women's team had scored 195 runs at the loss of three wickets and ended up winning the match.
