The Indian women’s cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, is currently hosting South Africa, captained by Laura Wolvaardt, for a multi-format series from June 16 to July 9. The series begins with the first of three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, followed by a one-off, four-day red-ball Test match and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), all in Chennai. In the first ODI of the series, all-rounder Deepti Sharma marked her 200th international appearance for India.
Deepti Sharma is a pivotal all-rounder for the Women in Blue, known for her ability to take crucial wickets and her numerous bowling variations that often confuse batters. In this ongoing ODI series between India and South Africa, Deepti achieved the remarkable milestone of playing her 200th international match in the first ODI of this bilateral series.
Deepti made her international debut at the young age of 17 during the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in India. Her first international match was against South Africa, and now she has reached the milestone of 200 international match appearances, again facing South Africa. Throughout her career, she has performed consistently, taking 236 wickets in 200 matches, with career-best bowling figures of 6/20. Additionally, she has contributed 3,319 runs with the bat, showcasing her all-round abilities.
In ODIs, Deepti debuted on November 28, 2014, against South Africa during the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in Bengaluru. She has played 87 ODI matches, taking 102 wickets. Her best bowling figures of 6/20 came against Sri Lanka in the 2016 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup on February 19, 2016. Deepti has scored 2,019 runs in ODIs, with her highest score being 188, achieved against Ireland in 2018.
In T20Is, Deepti made her debut on January 31, 2016, against Australia during India’s tour of Australia. To date, she has played 109 T20I matches, taking 118 wickets at an economy rate of 5.99. Her best bowling figures are 4/10, recorded against West Indies on November 10, 2019, during India’s T20 series in the West Indies, and with the bat, she has scored 1,020 runs at an impressive strike rate of 104.29.
In Tests, Deepti debuted on June 16, 2021, against England during India’s tour of England in Bristol. Since then, she has played 4 Test matches, taking 16 wickets at an economy rate of 2.25. Her best bowling performance came against England on December 14, 2023, where she took 9 wickets for 39 runs on home soil. With the bat, she has contributed 317 runs with an impressive average of 63.40 while batting in the lower middle order.
Indian Players with 200-plus international games:
Mithali Raj – 333
Harmanpreet Kaur – 302*
Jhulan Goswami – 282
Smriti Mandhana – 222*
Deepti Sharma – 200*