Not Virat Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar: Harmanpreet Kaur becomes first Indian to…

Harmanpreet Kaur of India (Getty Images) India captain Harmanpreet Kaur achieved a unique milestone on the opening day of the one-off women’s Test against England at Lord’s, becoming the first Indian cricketer, both male and female, to score a half-century in all three international formats at the iconic venue.The 37-year-old reached the milestone with a composed 58 in India’s first innings on Friday, adding another remarkable achievement to her decorated international career.Harmanpreet had earlier registered fifty-plus scores in both ODIs and T20Is at the Home of Cricket. Her final knock completed the line-up and became the first Indian woman to reach a fifty in Tests, ODIs and T20Is at Lord’s.The Indian skipper was instrumental in rebuilding the innings after an early wobble. With the dismissals of Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia, India were reduced to 37 for 2 in the opening seven overs.Smriti Mandhana steadied the innings alongside Jemimah Rodrigues with the pair adding 64 runs for the third wicket. Rodrigues made a brisk 35 off 38 deliveries before falling to Issy Wong.Harmanpreet then joined Mandhana for a vital partnership of 89 that put India in a commanding position. The skipper looked fluid throughout her innings, driving through the covers with confidence and rotating the strike effectively as England looked for breakthroughs.Mandhana looked set for a century before falling behind Wong for 83, while Harmanpreet’s well-made 58 ended just before the tea break when debutant spinner Mady Villiers produced a brilliant break to drop the Indian skipper.India went to tea at 202 for 5 but failed to capitalize on the platform. England’s bowlers staged a strong comeback and claimed the remaining seven wickets for just 85 runs.Deepti Sharma provided valuable resistance lower down the order with a fighting 57 and shared a 45-run partnership with Sneh Rana to help India post 285 in their first innings.In reply, England started cautiously and closed the opening day on 21 for 1. Kranti Goud struck early to dismiss Tammy Beaumont for two, while Maya Bouchier remained unbeaten on 17 along with Heather Knight as the hosts finished the day behind India by 264 runs.

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