3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jun 28, 2026 10:40 PM IST
There are batters who pile on runs through a tournament. Then there is Harmanpreet Kaur, who has developed a different reputation over the years – saving her finest for the biggest occasion, especially when the opponent is Australia.
It happened again at Lord’s on Sunday.
After a T20 World Cup in which she had looked scratchy and shuffled around the batting order, Harmanpreet walked out with India’s semifinal hopes on the line. Australia, once again, stood in the way. And once again, she found another gear.
Her 56 off 27 balls was more than just another half-century. It was a reminder that some players are defined not by how they start tournaments, but by how they respond when everything is on the line.
This was not new.
Less than a year ago, at the ODI World Cup in Navi Mumbai, Harmanpreet produced one of the innings of the tournament against the same opponents. Her 89 off 88 balls in the semifinal anchored India’s chase and helped knock out a side that had dominated women’s cricket for years. That victory was hailed as the moment India finally broke through against Australia in a global knockout.
AS IT HAPPENED: INDIA VS AUSTRALIA WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP 2026 HIGHLIGHTS
Long before that came the innings that transformed her career.
The 171 not out off 115 balls at Derby in the 2017 ODI World Cup semifinal remains one of the greatest knocks ever played by an Indian batter. Australia entered that match as overwhelming favourites. Harmanpreet left them stunned. It was an innings filled with fearless hitting, clean striking and complete control, announcing both herself and Indian women’s cricket to a global audience.
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Nearly a decade later, there is a pattern that is impossible to ignore.
She did not come into the match in dominant form. Throughout the tournament, she had struggled with timing and fluency. India’s middle order had looked unsettled, with batting positions changing from game to game. Questions were beginning to emerge over whether their captain could still produce the innings India desperately needed.
The answer arrived in 27 balls. The numbers alone tell part of the story. But they don’t capture the psychological edge she seems to carry into these contests.
Some players are lifted by pressure rather than burdened by it. Harmanpreet has repeatedly shown that Australia, the strongest team in the women’s game for well over a decade, brings out exactly that version of her. It is almost as if the occasion strips away the uncertainty that sometimes creeps into her batting elsewhere.
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Every great sporting rivalry produces players who consistently rise to the challenge. Steve Waugh had England. Virat Kohli has Pakistan in ICC events. Harmanpreet, increasingly, seems to reserve her most memorable chapters for Australia.
Whether India goes on to lift another World Cup or not, this quality remains one of her defining traits. Through different phases of her career, different teams and different tournaments, one thing has stayed remarkably constant.
When Australia stand across from her in a knockout game, Harmanpreet Kaur rarely needs a second invitation.
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