Who Is Harleen Deol? Team India might have lost their first T20I match in their ongoing tour against England but Harleen Deol's remarkable effort on the field on Friday night stunned even the opponents. India's Deol took a magnificent catch on the boundary, which is now being touted as one of the most sensational and stunning catches in the history of cricket. With her catch, Deol helped dismiss England batter Amy Jones during the 19th over of the first innings at Northampton.
Jones was batting on 43 off 26 balls in the 19th over. Shikha Pandey was bowling and Deol was positioned at long-off. The English cricketer's shot was well-timed and for a second it seemed to clear the boundary on the offside but Deol timed her jump perfectly and acrobatically caught it safely. She pulled off a brilliant effort, however, the momentum took her over the ropes. An alert Deol realised it and threw the ball back in, but before it could touch the ground, she jumped back in the nick of time and dove full stretched to complete the catch. She forced the batter out along with saving the six.
Pandey, who also showed extraordinary effort among the Indian bowlers on Friday, tweeted that from now on, we shall call this type of catch the "Harleen catch."
"Not the result we wanted but we play for moments like these!! Decided- From now on we shall call this type of catch as 'Harleen catch'! You beauty Harleen Deol #DefyingGravity," she wrote on Twitter. Check it out:
Not the result we wanted but we play for moments like these!!
— Shikha Pandey (@shikhashauny) July 9, 2021
Decided- From now on we shall call this type of catch as ‘Harleen catch’! You beauty @imharleenDeol #DefyingGravity
pic.twitter.com/ruh8Bf3Qwp
Former England women cricketer Isa Guha, former Australia cricketer Lisa Sthalekar and ex-West Indies skipper Daren Sammy also hailed Deol for her surreal catch. Check out the reactions here:
Beaut @imharleenDeol #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/ka2kRJgkNC
— Isa Guha (@isaguha) July 9, 2021
@imharleenDeol simpky amazing https://t.co/1lNADUDxXx
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) July 10, 2021
OMG 😱 🤯🤯@imharleenDeol take a bow!! Calling it now the best we will see this series!! pic.twitter.com/O4Dwm4OYlU
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) July 9, 2021
But who is Harleen Deol, the new sensation in women's cricket?
Punjab star batswoman, Harleen Deol is an aggressive batter who represents Himachal Pradesh in domestic cricket. The 23-year-old right-hand player is particularly strong against spin bowlers due to her nimble footwork, according to Cricbuzz. The Indian cricketer used to play a lot of gully cricket with boys while growing up. It didn't please her neighbours but her parents, especially her mother, was a strong supporter. Initially an off-spinner, Deol then took to leg-spin in the Punjab sub-junior side. Like most wrist spinners, she is a huge fan of Shane Warne and impressed in the exhibition match that was played between women's cricketers across the globe, held during IPL 2019.
Deol herself is a tweaker, a wrist spinner and definitely has the skill to be a genuine all-rounder. After showing enough promise in the domestic circuit, she made her international debut in 2019 across both the white-ball formats. Read more here.
Meanwhile, England beat India by 18 runs in the first T20I match.
The result didn't go our way today but here is something special from the game.@ImHarmanpreet | @imharleenDeol #TeamIndia
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 9, 2021
🎥: @SonySportsIndia pic.twitter.com/E1lMmPZrYR
Feature Image Credit: Reuters
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