In match no. 2 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025, inaugural champions Mumbai Indians locked horns with two-time runners up Delhi Capitals at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. However, it also marked a significant and historic milestone for the Indians’ skipper Harmanpreet Kaur as she recorded her 150th game as a skipper in T20s.
From leading India at the highest competitive level to commanding sides in the domestic circuit, the 35-year-old has demonstrated brilliant leadership, tactical dominance, and a fresh brand of cricket.
Kaur’s career as a skipper has been distinguished by match-defining choices, and an assertive style of command that has inspired the teams she has captained. Whether wearing the Indian shirt or heading franchises, her style of playing to develop the future stars has made her a powerful asset of the sport.
Receiving the India cap in 2012, Kaur has amassed 2659 T20I runs in 123 matches, which includes a century as well. Playing 18 and 9 matches respectively for the Mumbai Indians and the SuperNovas, the Indian skipper has notched up 591 and 341 runs respectively with brilliant averages of 45.46 and 48.71.
Additionally, Kaur completed 8000 T20 runs in their WPL 2025 opener, though in a losing cause, she scored 42 off 22 balls. Surpassing the milestone, she became only the second Indian batter after Smriti Mandhana to mark this tremendous achievement. Under her astute captaincy, the Indian side has qualified for the knockouts of ICC tournaments, including the final of the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Talking about her captaincy, the 35-year-old has tasted glory 71 times in 123 international outings and etched history by winning the inaugural Women’s Premier League title in 2023. During the Women’s T20 challenge, Kaur led the Supernovas and bagged 5 wins out of 4 games.
While Kaur has achieved resounding success as a T20 captain, her journey has also seen its share of criticism, particularly on the biggest of stages. Despite leading India to the high-intense final of the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the group fell short against the mighty Australia in a one-sided affair, exposing vulnerabilities in handling big-match pressure.
Similar errors arose in the 2023 T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia, where India yet again being in a commanding position- lost control and helped the Aussies to take the command in the blink of an eye.
Loves all things female cricket
