Harmanpreet Kaur surpasses Meg Lanning on elite women's ODIs list after Pakistan win in Colombo
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur for once found herself ahead of former Australian captain and serial trophy winner Meg Lanning after the Women in Blue registered their second consecutive win in the ongoing Women's World Cup win. India achieved a commanding 88-run win over their arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and it was the 90th win for Kaur as a player, having represented India in 154 ODIs. Kaur surpassed Lanning, who was part of 89 wins in women's ODIs, representing Australia in 103 matches during her illustrious 13-year international career. The fact that Lanning lost just 13 ODIs in her career is proof of the invincibility of the Australian women's cricket team during her time.
Mithali Raj leads the overall list with 129 wins in 232 ODIs, the former Indian captain played, while being part of 99 defeats as well. Among current players, only Ellyse Perry (125), current Australian skipper (103) and former England captain (100) are part of the centenary club. Perry is inching closer to Raj's record and could leapfrog the Indian legend during the ongoing World Cup itself.
Kaur might not get to the 100 mark during the World Cup, but does have an opportunity to go past the likes of Australian legends Cathryn Fitzpatrick (91) and Belinda Clark (94) and former English international Katherine Sciver-Brunt (93).
Kaur has gone past Raj in the list of most catches taken by Indian women in ODIs. Coming into the World Cup, she was one behind Raj's tally of 165 catches and has now gone past with the two catches she has taken in the tournament. Kaur caught Sri Lanka's Anushka Sanjeewani at mid-wicket during India's defence of 269 against the Lankan side, while she grabbed Sidra Amin in the clash against Pakistan.
Kaur is now second on the list for most catches taken by Indian women in ODIs and is only behind Jhulan Goswami, who has palmed 69 catches.
Most catches for India in Women ODIs:
1 - Jhulan Goswami: 69 catches in 204 matches
2 - Harmanpreet Kaur: 65 catches in 154 matches
3 - Mithali Raj: 64 catches in 232 matches
India defeated Sri Lanka in their opener by 59 runs (DLS method) and were not put in any major trouble other than their top-order not firing. They defeated Pakistan with a complete batting show but no one passed fifty in the clash.
Speaking after the Pakistan match, Kaur highlighted that the team needs to improve on certain things, but is happy until the team is winning.
"Very happy, very important game for all of us, and I'm sure everyone back home is happy as well. Our bowling was great. Kranti bowled really well; she was outstanding, and Renuka helped her get the breakthroughs. We created so many chances, unfortunately, we dropped it, but in the end, when you win, you are happy.
