India women’s cricket team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, has played one of the greatest innings in women’s cricket history. That 171* against Australia in the 2017 ODI Women’s World Cup is labeled as a point of change in how the sport was played. It was a masterclass in reconstruction and then destruction.
The second part of that innings makes everyone feel that Harmanpreet could be one of the greatest T20 batters of all time. You can make a case for her as the third-highest run-getter in WT20Is. But, when talking about the biggest stage, the Women’s T20 World Cup, the record suggests otherwise.
An average of 20 and a strike rate of 107—that’s her record in the mega event. In the 8 editions of the Women’s T20 World Cup, she’s struck at over 100 in just three. Similarly, only twice has she averaged over 25. In the 2020 edition, when Team India reached the semifinals of the event for the first time, she averaged 4. Yes, you read it right. She scored just 20 runs in 5 matches.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s record in Women’s T20 World Cup
| Edition | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | 2 | 28 | 14 | 70 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 3 | 26 | 8.66 | 77.14 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 3 | 94 | 31.33 | 118.98 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 | 4 | 89 | 22.25 | 86.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 5 | 183 | 45.75 | 160.52 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 5 | 20 | 4 | 47.61 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5 | 118 | 23.6 | 103.5 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | 576 | 20.57 | 107.66 | 1 | 2 |
Focus on Harmanpreet’s strike rate
Now, in fairness, she is just one of six women who have ever hit a hundred in the Women’s T20 World Cup, but her overall record is so bleak that you’d lose all hope of Team India winning the 2025 edition. In the last event, she struck at a meager 103.50. Her average wasn’t great (23.60), but T20 is no longer the format of averages. It’s how quickly you score.
Since 2022, Harmanpreet’s strike rate is just 117 in WT20Is. This isn’t a small sample size either. 45 innings, which included the 2023 Women’s T20 Cup and the most recent 2024 Women’s Asia Cup as well. She’s scored 6 half-centuries in this period, and while her average is good enough (32.91), the strike rate remains a worrisome thing.
Since 2019, only once has she had a strike rate of over 120 in a year. This has seen her reputation as a T20 batter take quite a hit. In two separate T20 leagues in 2024 (The Women’s Hundred and Women’s Big Bash), she failed to attract a bidder. She remains a force to be reckoned with in the Women’s Premier League, but one to ask the question: are we seeing the end of Harmanpreet Kaur in WT20Is?
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