First T20I match between India and England was a match that will be remembered just for Harleen Deol’s wonderful catch. While Sachin Tendulkar called it the “Catch of the Year”, India’s test and ODI captain Mithali Raj praised her and the fielding coach Abhay Sharma for his contribution.
Harleen’s brilliant effort got a very comfortable Amy Jones back into the pavilion. She took the catch in the 19th over, while Jones did nothing wrong with the shot and timed it perfectly but Harleen Deol jumped and took a perfect catch that soon became viral on social media.
Watch Harleen Deol’s catch that took the internet by storm
Out of 10, how much would you rate this epic catch by Harleen Deol? ❤️🇮🇳#ENGvIND #HarleenDeol pic.twitter.com/E07ptipieP
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 9, 2021
Harleen’s efforts were celebrated all over the world, not only in the cricket fraternity but in others too. Businessman Anand Mahindra and political leaders Anurag Thakur and Priyanka Gandhi took to Twitter and praised the cricketer.
Harleen Deol got so much love and applause from people all around the world and even her mother’s phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since her astonishing catch. Her mother Charanjit Deol told Hindustan Times that her phone is now flooded with messages and calls from friends and relatives.
“I spoke to Harleen after the game. She was thrilled but disappointed as India lost the game. She wanted to win the game for the country,” she said.
She also told that Harleen’s bother would drive her 30 Km every day so that she can go for her cricket practice from Mohali to Zirakpur.
“Not many grounds have opened since the pandemic broke out. We found this ground and even though it was a bit far, it had good facilities. We bought gym equipment so she could work out at home. She was always in good shape and working on her fitness and athletic ability,” added Charanjit.
Harleen left Mohali when she was 13 and went to Dharamshala to join the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association’s residential academy for U-19 girls. At that time, it was Anurag Thakur who was the head of HPCA and accepted Deol.
“It feels great to see Anurag sir appreciating Harleen. My daughter was always welcomed at HPCA, where she honed her skills. She wants to be part of the India ODI team and play in the Australia series, followed by the ODI World Cup in New Zealand early next year,” added Charanjit.
She also talked about the time when Deol had just started playing cricket, “Harleen started playing cricket at the age of seven and I still remember her coming home from the Yadvindra Public School ground after bowling with a broken finger within months of her starting her career,” Charanjit told Indian Express.
Once while playing for Himachal Pradesh in Gujarat, she bowled despite an injured finger. To see her take such a sensational catch without worrying about the fall and getting praise from players like Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Nasser Hussain apart from leaders and fans is the biggest reward for Harleen’s hard work,” she added.
Harleen’s coach at the HPCA, Pawan Sen, who worked with her when she was in the U-19 program also had a lot of things to say about his mentee, “Like any young cricketer, Harleen had her fears of diving and sliding to stop the ball.”
“We trained the HPCA Academy trainees to slide on wet pitch covers to end the fear of sliding and diving on the ground. It helped her. Along with her bowling and batting. She has evolved to be a very good fielder and to earn praise from the cricketing world shows her hard work,” he added.
We have a new Wonder Woman in town – Harleen Deol.
As per @anandmahindra and we agree 100% 😃
PS: Sorry @GalGadot 😁🤭 #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/FMiphQG6Pi
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 10, 2021
Source: Shalini Gupta for Hindustan Times