Women's World Cup: Ex-Indian skipper Anju Jain hails Harmanpreet for explosive inning

Former Indian skipper Anju Jain is the latest one to join the club for applauding the explosive Indian cricket player Harmanpreet Kaur for playing a heroic inning during semi-final match on 20 July in ongoing ICC Women's World Cup,

In an interviews given to DNA, Anju said that she believed in Harmanpreet's abilities since the days of U-19.

It was Anju who picked up Harmanpreet from Under-19 stables and gave her the India cap in 2009.

Harmanpreet produced inarguable one of the greatest ODI knocks ever in women's cricket to power India into the final of the World Cup with a stunning 36-run win over defending champions Australia.

“From the first day of North Zone U-19 in Pune, we saw her approach to the game and the power she had in her shots. That’s when we decided to draft her in the senior team,” Jain said.

“She was only becoming consistent,” Jain told DNA.

Harmanpreet made her debut in 2009 and has never looked back.

“We all know the sort of potential Harmanpreet has. She is very aggressive and positive in her approach. She has the power to score boundaries at will, like we saw on Thursday. The percentage of boundaries in her game is always on the higher side. She can clear boundaries at will, something that is not often seen in women’s cricket,” Jain.

“Harmanpreet is constantly looking to hit big and score boundaries. It is very refreshing for women’s cricket. With the rise of T20 cricket, you need these sorts of players that can deliver the goods,” Jain said.

“Earlier she was attacking all the time. Gradually, she has learnt to build an innings. Now she knows how to pace her innings,” she added.

With India in a spot of bother at 35-2 in the 10th over, Harmanpreet came in and mauled the Australian bowlers with her brutal force to remain unbeaten on 171 off 115 balls and power India to 281-4 in the rain-hit semifinal.

But in the run-up to the semifinal, Harmanpreet struggled to get time in the middle and had faced only 91 balls in five innings.