India Women’s National Cricket Team captain and star batter Harmanpreet Kaur scripted history in women’s cricket on Thursday, February 19, at Manuka Oval.
Harmanpreet Kaur becomes the most-capped player in Women’s Cricket
When Harmanpreet Kaur stepped onto the field, she became the most-capped player in women’s international cricket. Kaur surpassed New Zealand’s Suzie Bates (355) to make a world record in women’s cricket. Mithali Raj is another Indian on that elite list with 333 outings.
The fearless batter reached this massive milestone during the second T20I against the Australian women’s national cricket team at Manuka Oval.
3⃣5⃣6⃣* matches of utmost commitment and determination 🫡
Congratulations to #TeamIndia captain Harmanpreet Kaur on becoming the most-capped international player in women’s cricket 👏👏 #AUSvIND | @ImHarmanpreet pic.twitter.com/wMfgOE6AFU
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) February 19, 2026
She has now played a total of 356 international matches for the India Women’s National Cricket Team, and that tells a story of her pure commitment, hard work, and strong character.
| Most Matches in Women’s Internationals | ||
|
Rank |
Player | Matches |
| 1 | Harmanpreet Kaur | 356 |
| 2 | Suzie Bates | 355 |
| 3 | Ellyse Perry | 349 |
| 4 | Mithali Raj | 333 |
| 5 | Charlotte Edwards | 309 |
| 6 | Sophie Devine | 305 |
| 7 | Heather Knight | 303 |
| 8 | Danni Wyatt-Hodge | 302 |
Kaur’s Record-Breaking Journey
Kaur’s record includes 6 Test matches, 161 ODIs, and 189 T20Is. With this, she stands alone at the top of the most-capped players list in women’s cricket. She is now followed by Suzie Bates (355), Ellyse Perry (349), Mithali Raj (333), and Sophie Devine (312) in the top-5 most capped players list.
The 36-year-old already led India to their first-ever ODI World Cup title last year and recently guided the team to a T20I series win in England. Earlier this month, Kaur was also awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honor, for her great contribution to the game of cricket.
Harmanpreet and Co. eye historic series-sealing win
Speaking about the second T20I match, the India women’s captain won the toss and decided to bowl first in the second T20I against Australia at Manuka Oval on Thursday. Australia is being led by Sophie Molineux in the ongoing three-match T20I series at home.
India is already 1-0 ahead after winning the first match by 21 runs through the DLS method. Now, Harmanpreet and her team will aim to win this game as well to seal the series. Their only series win in Australia came back in 2016, when they won the T20I series 2-1.
India Captain backs attack to deliver again
After the toss, Harmanpreet Kaur said the decision was taken after looking at the pitch and weather conditions. She also showed full trust in her bowlers and said she expects them to perform strongly again like they did in the previous match against the Australian women.
Kaur stated, “Looking at the conditions, we just thought that bowling first is a better option for us. Our bowlers did a great job for us in the last game, and hopefully today also they’ll come with the same positive mindset.”
Playing XIs for IND-W vs AUS-W 2nd T20I –
Australia XI: Beth Mooney(w), Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Nicola Carey, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux(c), Kim Garth, Darcie Brown
India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud
