'Throwing 19-yr-old under the bus': Harmanpreet's post-match remark on younger teammate angers ex-India pacer

Harmanpreet Kaur during the toss ahead of the 3rd ODI of the Australia Women’s Tour of India, 2023–24, between India and Australia at Wankhede Stadium

India’s Shreyanka Patil was tasked to limit the damage in the low-scoring contest between the Indian women’s team led by Haramanpreet Kaur and visitors Australia at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Australia were hoping to restore parity when the record-time World Cup winners squared off against Harmanpreet and Co. in the penultimate clash of the three-match series.

Batting on 28 off 20 balls, superstar Ellyse Perry only managed to score 4 runs with teammate Phoebe Litchfield in the 18th over bowled by Pooja Vastrakar. The equation was simple: Australia had to score 15 runs from the remaining 12 balls to record its first win of the series. Harmanpreet then roped in young Shreyanka back into the attack for the 19th over. Leaking 23 runs in her first 3 overs, Shreyanka was hoping to take the encounter into the final over by keeping things airtight for the Aussie batters in her last six balls.

What Harmanpreet said about Shreyanka

However, Shreyanka conceded 17 runs, which paved the way for Perry-starrer Australia to wrap up the contest in 19 overs. Reflecting on India’s defeat after the match, skipper Harmanpreet opined that things would have been different for the hosts if Shreyanka was on target in her final over. “[While Bowling] we were getting those opportunities and taking wickets in the middle, that’s a positive. If Shreyanaka was on target in the 19th over, things would have been different but these close games help to identify areas to improve,” she said.

“We have played these games a lot of time but this time we have a few new faces, this young side is looking very positive and I’m sure they will keep improving,” she added. Taking cognisance of Harmanpreet’s remarks about her teammate, former India pacer Dodda Ganesh called out the Indian skipper for her ‘throwing Shreyanka under the bus’. “Throwing a 19yo kid under the bus is not done,” the former India cricketer said in his post.

Harmanpreet’s remark on teammate upsets ex-India pacer

Can India register maiden T20I series win over Australia?

Talking more about the match, Australia restricted India to 130 for 8 after the visitors won the toss and opted to field. Starts from Smriti Mandhana (23), Richa Ghosh (23) and Deepti Sharma (30) lifted India to 130-8 in 20 overs. Skipper Harmanpreet had a forgetful day as she was dismissed for 6 off 12 balls. Recording her 300th international appearance for the Aussies, Perry played an unbeaten knock of 34 to seal Australia’s 6-wicket win over India. Harmanpreet’s India Women will eye a maiden T20I series win over Australia in the 3rd T20I on Tuesday.

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