“Whenever we needed a breakthrough, she was there for the team,” Harmanpreet Kaur says of Kranti Goud, whose six-wicket haul helped India defend 318 in the deciding ODI against England

Valkerie Baynes23-Jul-2025Ten balls had gone – and Harmanpreet Kaur was counting – before she scored her first run, the first of 102 that would set the platform for India’s series-clinching victory against England and lay down a marker ahead of the home ODI World Cup.On the 11th ball she faced at Chester-le-Street in the third and final ODI, Harmanpreet found the boundary with a gorgeous cover drive off left-arm spinner Linsey Smith and, while it was slow-going at first, she was on her way.Harmanpreet’s century was her seventh in ODIs but her first score above 50 in the format in 13 innings. Since scoring 54 in the 50-over warm-up match against an ECB Development XI at the start of the tour, her best score in either of the white-ball series against England had been 26 in the fourth T20I.Related

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“In all the matches I wanted to give my best in batting but today’s game was very important to us,” she said. “The plan was to spend some time on the wicket and then see how things go. That really worked for me.”The first [ten] balls, I didn’t get any runs but then I was just talking to myself: ‘I’m not going to lose myself, just be there, be there for the team’.”By reaching a hundred in 82 deliveries, Harmanpreet surpassed her 87-ball effort against South Africa last year as the second-fastest for her country in women’s ODIs after Smriti Mandhana’s century off 70 balls against Ireland earlier this year. She also became the third India player to pass 4000 runs in women’s ODIs in the process.Also satisfying for India was their all-round batting performance, which also included 50 for Jemimah Rodrigues, who put on 110 runs for the fourth wicket with Harmanpreet, 45 each for Mandhana and Harleen Deol, and an 18-ball 38 from Richa Ghosh.Kranti Goud struck twice in the first powerplay on her way to a six-wicket haul•PA Photos/Getty ImagesThen Kranti Goud, the 21-year-old seamer playing her fifth match for India, took 6 for 52 as England were bowled out for 305 with one ball remaining, 13 runs shy of achieving a world-record run-chase. Goud became the second-youngest India player behind Deepti Sharma to take a five-wicket haul in women’s ODIs.”She’s been really impressing whenever she was on the field and bowling for the team,” Harmanpreet said of Goud. “I’m really happy the kind of bowling she did today and whenever we needed a breakthrough, she was there for the team.”India’s 318 for 5 was the second-highest ODI score by a visiting team in England after their 333 for 5 in Canterbury in 2022. It was also the fifth time India had scored 300 or more in ODIs this year.Tuesday’s narrow winning margin belied India’s dominance in the match, although allowing England to go from 8 for 2 to 170 for 2 as Nat Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb added 162 runs together will act as a reminder that the World Cup hosts cannot give any ground to their opponents.India can expect a sterner test from reigning champions Australia, whom they will play in a three-match ODI series immediately before the World Cup. But Harmanpreet said her team would take confidence from their tour of England, which also included a 3-2 victory in the T20I series.There will be sterner tests ahead, but India can celebrate the double in England for the moment•Getty Images”Today was a totally different situation and different pitch, different atmosphere, in home conditions it will be different,” she said. “But whenever you win, that can always give you a positive mindset and keep you in a good place.”This series definitely will give us a lot of confidence but, again, when we go back, we have to start again from ball one.”She was also pleased that her team were hitting good form at the right time.”Our team has been really working hard for so many years and this is the time where we are getting that [reward],” she said. “We only talk about playing good cricket and we know the kind of talent we have in our side. It’s only about using the right talent at right time and getting the best out of them.”I’m really happy. All the girls, they’re coming up with a positive mindset and working really hard on their fitness. We have understood a lot of things in the past few years and right now we’re just trying to pass that benchmark and set ourselves into that position where people can talk about women’s cricket. People can take a women’s cricket really seriously back home because we all know how much people love cricket back home, and they also want us to do well.”