India Women had lost five wickets within 12 overs when debutant Amanjot Kaur walked out to bat at No. 7 in the first match of South Africa Women’s T20I Tri-Series against South Africa in East London last night.
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Kaur, 23, was playing this match primarily due to suspected illnesses to several first-choice players. Fast-tracked into the national squad after being the highest run-scorer for Punjab in domestic T20s, Kaur was nervous and understandably so.
“Never thought I would be playing like this, it was a good opportunity and glad that I grabbed the opportunity. Was just hoping to get some runs. She [Deepti Sharma] calmed my nerves, it’s my debut, and she guided me well,” Kaur told SuperSport after winning a match award during the post-match presentation ceremony.
For the unversed, Sharma (33) and Kaur (41*) put together a game-changing 49-ball 76-run partnership for the sixth wicket to bail India out of trouble. Kaur, who was batting on 7 (13) at one point, hit South Africa pacer Ayabonga Khaka for consecutive boundaries in the 16th over to show first signs of aggression.
In the following over, Kaur hit all-rounder Marizanne Kapp for back-to-back fours to find much-needed momentum in the slog overs. A memorable international debut wasn’t just restricted to this as the right-handed batter once again targeted Khaka to hit three fours in penultimate over of the innings.
Are Harmanpreet Kaur and Amanjot Kaur related to each other as sisters?
Regular India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who didn’t play this match due to an illness, isn’t related to Amanjot Kaur by any means in spite of a common surname.
Kaur, 33, was born in Moga to Harmandar Singh Bhullar and Satwinder Kaur. One of the most successful female Indian cricketers, Kaur has a younger sister named Hemjeet Kaur.
Amanjot (daughter of Bhupinder Singh), meanwhile, belongs to Mohali and plays for Punjab in the domestic circuit after having led Union Territory Chandigarh for three seasons.
