Women’s Cricket inclusion in the Commonwealth Games 2022 has been a big step up for the game. To be a great representative of the women’s game, Indian and Australia went head-to-head in the first match of the Women’s T20I in Commonwealth Games 2022.
Winning the toss, the Indian team chose to bat first in hopes of putting Australia under pressure with a high score. Openers Smriti Mandhana (24) and Shafali Verma (48) gave a good start to the Women in Blue playing some quality shots in the process.
It was, however, the Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur who stole the limelight with her quickfire half-century in the Women’s T20I curtain raiser. Coming on to bat at number four, the Indian captain took charge of the batting and smashed eight fours and a huge six over the bowler's head to take India to a respectable score.
Twitter was awash with Indian fans praising the Indian captain for a great knock. Before we look at their reactions, let's look at the match so far.
The Indian team was somewhat let down by the middle order, which could not contribute to India’s total. Yastika Bhatia batting at number three could only come up with eight runs while Jemimah Rodrigues made 11 off of 12.
Deepti Sharma was another to fail with the bat making just one run in two balls. Jess Jonassen was the pick of the bowlers from the Australian side, coming up with a four-wicket haul.
The Australian batting has been dominated by Renuka Singh Thakur, who took all four wickets so far to put the opponent team in a tricky situation. Australia is currently 41-4 and looks under pressure.
India has full control of the match and has the upper hand in a match where it looked like 154 would not be enough. A masterclass batting from Kaur in the first innings allowed the Indian team to have a respectable score on the board. With Australia four wickets down, and 111 still needed at a run rate of 8.32, the game might end in India's favour.
Let's look at some of the Twitter reactions to Harmanpreet Kaur's half-century against Australia in the Commonwealth Games 2022.
Harmanpreet Kaur just loves to play against Australia 🔥 #INDvAUS #AUSvIND #B2022 #CWG2022 🔥🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/jRNojZeb9q
— Devendra Singh Rathod (@DevendrRathod9) July 29, 2022
Harmanpreet Kaur is a nightmare for Australian women's team 😁🤭
— Cricket 🏏 Lover // Bumrah is GOAT (@CricCrazyV) July 29, 2022
Fifty by the captain Harmanpreet Kaur in 32 balls - the first fifty of Commonwealth Games. A captain's knock by her, great innings. pic.twitter.com/PTN2uE2wZn
— Himanshu Ladha (@HimanshuLadha8) July 29, 2022
Take a bow, Harmanpreet Kaur 🙌#AUSvIND #CWG2022 #B2022
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 29, 2022
This will take some beating for the best sound of the entire #CommonwealthGames
Harmanpreet Kaur impressive with 52 (34) as Australia restrict India to 8-154. #B2022 pic.twitter.com/9e4ajZ0AG5
— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) July 29, 2022