Harmanpreet Kaur's fall from grace could be first step on her road to redemption

20th July 2017, the Indian women’s team have defied expectations and odds to reach the semi-final of the 2017 Women’s World Cup. Their journey has been exceptional, and has seen numerous players rise to the fore in clutch situations.

Thus, when they enter a potentially titanic tussle against Australia – a team that has historically had the wood over the Women In Blue, there isn’t much trepidation. There is respect but not the fear factor that has defined many of their previous encounters with the Southern Stars.

India, akin to their courageous personality, win the toss and elect to bat first. The conditions are a little tricky but the Women In Blue back themselves to overcome it and land the first decisive blow. In an ideal world, they have everything planned out – right from their approach in the Power Play to their method in the middle overs.

In reality, though, everything goes against the script they had dreamt of. They lose their openers early, meaning that when Harmanpreet Kaur walks out to the centre, India are wobbling at 35/2 after 9.2 overs. A vital partnership between Harmanpreet and Mithali Raj ensues – a stand that takes the Women In Blue to 101/2 after 24.5 overs.

At the stage, both seem to have gotten themselves acclimatized to the conditions and the pitch isn’t playing as many tricks either. However, when Mithali bites the dust, Harmanpreet is singularly cast into the spotlight.

Prior to this crunch clash, Harmanpreet hadn’t set the World Cup ablaze. She had been a pivotal (even un-droppable) member of the Indian setup but wasn’t really able to fulfill her true potential. That, plus the fact India were playing against a side boasting vast experience of winning knock-out matches, meant that the writing was probably on the wall.

While almost every Indian fan (optimistic or pessimistic) was busy delivering their verdict, Harmanpreet was in her own bubble. She had seen the debris Australia had caused and knew that it would take something special for her to get India out of trouble. From all other quarters, this game had meandered into foregone conclusion territory. Not in her mind, though.

She bided her time, waited for her moment and when that arrived, she conjured an innings that would survive the ravages of time. When Mithali was dismissed, India were tottering at 101/3 (after 25 overs) in a 42- over game.

They ended up making 281 – a total many felt was simply beyond India’s reach. Many, however, didn’t account for the special traits that Harmanpreet brought to the fore on that dreary afternoon in Derby.

For those wondering, the Indian T20I skipper creamed a 171-run essay that day, contributing a shade more than 60% of the runs India scored. More importantly, she did it with the sort of class that made countless Indian fans believe that they could, irrespective of the opposition, hold their own.

In many ways, that knock remains the crescendo, as far as Harmanpreet’s international career is concerned. After all, not a lot of sides are able to treat Australia with such disdain – that too at a World Cup and in a semi-final.

A year later, she cracked another sumptuous ton – this time at the Providence Stadium against New Zealand at the T20 World Cup. The innings, much like it was against Australia, was a brash proclamation that the situation and the opposition didn’t matter.

In simpler words, it was an illustration that when Harmanpreet decided to take matters into her own hands, there was nothing any opponent could do.

A string of low scores have led to Harmanpreet's omission

Unfortunately for her, those have been glorious aberrations in the past few. Since the 2017 Women’s World Cup, the batter has notched up a fifty-plus score only twice in ODI cricket and has seen her place in the side come under a massive scanner. In fact, she might have even been dropped for the 4th ODI against New Zealand on 22nd February, 2022, indicating how far a fall from grace she has endured.

During this sequence, though, she has been a pretty consistent performer in franchise cricket. She gave a relatively good account of herself at The Hundred (Women’s) and was the Player of the Series in the recently-concluded Women’s Big Bash League.

So, it will be very tough for anyone to argue that Harmanpreet is undergoing a rough patch. If anything, she has looked in good touch without really notching up as many big scores. There have been a few (okay, more than a few) soft dismissals. But those haven’t been damning enough to indicate that she has become a bad player overnight.

Another neglected aspect is the kind of role she has been asked to perform for India. If she is selected, she will, in all likelihood, bat at No.5 – a spot below Mithali. On most occasions, the Indian skipper’s propensity to slow things down in the middle overs, forces Harmanpreet to attack from the outset.

She might not fancy it that much, despite having the game to suggest otherwise. The tons she scored against Australia and New Zealand materialized after relatively sedate beginnings. She knocked the ball around, soaked the pressure and then produced a blitz of extraordinary proportions.

Interestingly, all of Harmanpreet’s ODI hundreds have come when she has batted at No.4 – a position she may not bat for India at the upcoming World Cup. On all three occasions, she has had the chance to set up the game, rather than reacting to whatever the top order has done. And, there is a massive difference between the two.

While playing for the Melbourne Renegades’ women’s team in the WBBL, Harmanpreet was accorded the freedom to express herself. There were a few low scores there too. But she was given the confidence that failures would not be frowned upon.

If anything, there was a hand around the shoulder, saying that she must, at all costs, be her natural self. And, of course, a batting position higher than normal.

Harmanpreet looked in excellent touch during the WBBL

To an extent, she seems a little bogged down when playing for India. There could be several factors in play, and some could be out of her control too. As far as the end product is concerned, though, it feels a travesty that India aren’t able to get the best out of her.

At the moment, they seem to have several options to bat in the top four. Most of those alternatives aren’t great fits in the middle order either, meaning that Harmanpreet might continue to bat lower down. For further context, she has batted at No.4 only 10 times since the Women’s World Cup (as opposed to sixteen chances at No.5).

Yet, it is also important to acknowledge what she brings to the fore. Bad form or not, she can, unlike many others, single-handedly win India games of cricket. There aren’t a lot of cricketers in the world who can be garlanded with that accolade. Harmanpreet, though, most certainly qualifies.

It’s just that she has encounterd a rather elongated blip on the road. But hey, she did that in 2017 too and that worked out fine, right? Back then, there was belief that Harmanpreet could, irrespective of the opposition and the conditions, be a match-winner.

Her reputation has taken a bit of a hit but she hasn’t become a bad player overnight. She remains one of the greatest stroke-makers the women’s game has seen and it is now up to her and India to extract every ounce of performance.

Post her omission from the side for the 4th ODI, she is probably at the nadir of her cricketing journey. Ordinary cricketers might wilt. Not Harmanpreet. She is anything but ordinary. She somehow performs best when her back is against the wall – the virtuoso display at the 2017 World Cup against Australia is proof.

Oh, and once you’ve hit rock bottom – like Harmanpreet has done lately, the only trajectory is upwards. So much so that you are led to believe that her fall from grace is the first step on her road to redemption too. And, salvation, despite the noises, might actually not be very far away.