Did Harmanpreet Kaur Just Become the Most-Capped Player in Women’s International Cricket?
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Canberra, Feb 19 (NationPress) The Indian cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur made history on Thursday by becoming the most-capped player in women’s international cricket during the second T20I match against Australia at the Manuka Oval.
This remarkable achievement marks Kaur’s 356th international appearance for India, surpassing the previous record of 355 matches held by New Zealand's cricketing legend Suzie Bates.
With this significant milestone, Kaur ascends to the top of the all-time list for international appearances in women's cricket, outpacing Bates, Australia’s Ellyse Perry (349 matches), and former Indian captain Mithali Raj (333 matches). The top five is completed by England's Charlotte Edwards, who has 309 appearances.
Kaur, who debuted internationally in 2009, has had a prolific career spanning all three formats. Her record now includes six Tests, 161 ODIs, and 189 T20Is, with this milestone match also being her 189th T20I appearance.
This latest achievement adds to Kaur’s already illustrious career marked by leadership and significant accomplishments, including leading India to their first ODI World Cup victory in 2025 and recently guiding the team to a T20I series win in England. Earlier this month, she was honored with the Padma Shri for her exceptional contributions to Indian cricket.
Entering this match, India held a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series, which is part of a larger multi-format tour that also features three ODIs and a one-off Test.
In the first T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground, India claimed a 21-run victory over Australia via the DLS method, largely thanks to a career-best bowling performance from Arundhati Reddy.
Reddy’s impressive figures of 4-22 helped restrict Australia to 133 runs in 18 overs, despite some resistance from Georgia Wareham (30), Phoebe Litchfield (26), and Ellyse Perry (20). Australia’s innings faltered significantly, losing five wickets for just 12 runs after a promising start.
In response, India started strong with openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana contributing 50 runs in just 5.1 overs. However, heavy rain interrupted play, and with no further action possible, India was declared the winner under the DLS method, gaining an early edge in the multi-format series.