Harmanpreet Kaur (Photo Source : Disney + Hotstar)
India Women extended their dominance over Pakistan Women by emerging victorious for the 13th time in T20Is in Match 7 of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. However, in doing so, lost their skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, who had to retire hurt with India requiring just a couple of runs to clinch victory.
Harmanpreet, who dropped down the order by letting Jemimah Rodrigues go ahead of her in the batting order, suffered an injury to her neck in the concluding phase of the game. Requiring just four for victory at the beginning of the 19th over, the first three deliveries yielded a couple as India registered their first win of the campaign. The unfortunate incident with Harmanpreet occurred on the fourth delivery of the over.
Notably, the Indian skipper tried to nudge one fine between the gap between short-third man and point, only to overbalance and tumble to her knees. In doing so, she dragged herself out of her crease. Not knowing that Pakistani wicketkeeper Muneeba Ali had fluffed the chance, Harmanpreet Kaur tried to make her ground by rotating her body while lying on the ground.
At the end of it all, she made it to the crease. However, in the process, the Moga-born seemed to have cramped her neck. Holding her neck in agony with tears almost flowing down her eyes, the physio ran onto the field to attend to her.
Regardless, she couldn’t get herself back up to play and left the field while holding her neck in pain. The very next delivery resulted in India getting over the line with Harmanpreet’s replacement, Sajeevan Sajana, lofting a drive wide of mid-off for the ball to trickle to the fence with Fatima Sana’s chase going in vain.
Check out the viral Harmanpreet injury incident here:
Hope Harmanpreet Kaur is okay, Team India needs you #INDvPAK #INDvsPAK #T20WomensWorldCup #INDIAWIN #HarmanpreetKaur pic.twitter.com/RiAODLqo6i
— ANUJ THAKKUR (@anuj2488) October 6, 2024
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Hopefully, she is alright: Mandhana
The Vice-captain of the India Women’s team, Smriti Mandhana, filled in for Harmanpreet during the post-match presentation. She intimated viewers of the injury picked up by the skipper. Meanwhile, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) are yet to release an official statement from their end on the exact nature of Harmanpreet’s injury, the magnitude of it, and whether she would be available for selection for India’s next group-stage game against another of their Asian rivals, Sri Lanka Women.
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“Too soon to say anything, the medics are looking at it. Hopefully, she is alright,” stated Mandhana during the post-match ceremony.