India played their first of the three T20I against England in Northampton on 9th July 2021 and even though India lost, Harleen Deol won a lot of hearts and appreciation for her stellar catch.
Deol took one of the most stunning and magical catches in women’s cricket history to dismiss England batter Amy Jones during the 1st T20I at Northampton. Jones was looking good at 43 runs when in the 19th over he hit the ball towards the boundary, off Shikha Pandey’s ball, and Deol took the catch.
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
The ball was well-timed and Jones made no mistake there, it looked like the ball would carry and England and Jones would get six runs but Deol came between England and their plans. Deol, who was positioned at long-on, jumped at the perfect time and caught the ball but was thrown over the ropes due to momentum, so she threw the ball in the air inside the boundary and in time jumped inside and caught the ball to dismiss Jones.
Everybody including the players from the opposite team, couldn’t stop clapping after watching Deol take that breathtaking catch. After completing the catch, all of her teammates, including the ones sitting in the dugout, rushed towards Deol and hugged her. Even the commentators couldn’t stop praising Deol’s brilliance.
What a beautiful gesture by England’s Danni Wyatt 🙌🔥#ENGvIND #ENGWvINDW #HarleenDeol pic.twitter.com/ZUgUwabnVG
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 10, 2021
India lost the first match to England by 18 runs according to the DLS method. Batting first, England set a target of 178 runs for the Indians to chase. England made a very good score of 177/7 in 20 overs which included Nat Sciver’s marvelous half-century.
India in reply couldn’t keep up with England’s big total, lost their star opener, Shafali Verma, on the second ball of the second inning. Mandhana and Deol kept the show going with their 44-run partnership but after Mandhana’s wicket, things went downhill for India.
It was another low-scoring day for the T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. She went for a cheap one-run and was unable to play the match-winning inning, the inning that everyone wants and expects her to play. It felt like even the weather didn’t want the Indians to bat, it started pouring and the match was called off.
The 2nd T20I match will be played on 11th July at Hove.