Hurricane Harman hits Australia

Derby, Harmanpreet Kaur produced one of the greatest ODI knocks in women’s cricket as India stormed into the World Cup final after beating Australia by 36 runs in the second semifinal here today.
It is only the second time that India have entered the summit clash of the global event, having lost to Australia in the final of the 2005 edition. Skipper Mithali Raj and senior pacer Jhulan Goswami were part of that team.
India will meet hosts England in the final at the Lord’s on Sunday.
Harmanpreet smashed her way to a career-best 171 off 115 balls, leaving the Australian bowlers in a daze as India put up an imposing 281/4 after rain reduced the match to 42-overs a side.
This was India’s highest ever total against Australia and proved to be match-winning even as Alex Blackwell’s power-packed 90 took them to 245 in 40.1 overs.
The day belonged to Harmanpreet as her innings could well be termed as one which will be remembered for years to come. It drew comparisons with Kapil Dev’s historic 175 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells during the 1983 campaign.
After a dry run during the better part of the league stage, India’s most sought after T20 cricketer stepped up just when it mattered the most. After a useful 60 against New Zealand in the virtual quarterfinal, Harmanpreet upped the ante like never before. Harmanpreet’s third ODI century was embellished with 20 fours and seven sixes.
With enough runs on the board, confident Indian seamers Goswami and Shikha Pandey came up with brilliant opening spells. Opener Beth Mooney and skipper Meg Lanning were cleaned up by Pandey and Goswami, respectively. Ellyse Perry (38) and Elyse Villani (75) added 105 runs for the fourth wicket but it was always a catching up game for the defending champions.
Blackwell then gave India some jittery moments, hitting 90 off 56 balls with 10 fours and three sixes before she was bowled by Sharma. The Derby ground has proved to be a happy hunting one for India as they have won all five matches here.