We committed no crime, says Indian women cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur

London, September 25

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said her side committed “no crime” after completing a first-ever whitewash in ODIs on the English soil with a legal yet debatable run out.

Harmanpreet was responding to questions on the run out effected by Deepti Sharma at the non-striker’s end to claim the crucial wicket of Charlie Dean, who had backed up too far, and end England’s innings 17 runs short of the target of 170 in the final ODI here on Saturday. Batting at No. 9, Dean had staged a dramatic recovery with a fighting 47 to put England within reach of the target after the hosts had slipped to 65/7 and then 103/8.

“Today whatever we have done I don’t think it was any crime,” Harmanpreet said. “It is part of the game and it is an ICC rule and I think we just need to back our player. I’m actually very happy she was aware of that, and the batter she is taking too long a stride I think,” she added.

Harmanpreet, who was named the Player of the Series, did not agree that the controversy took the sheen off Jhulan Goswami’s farewell game. “I don’t think we need to talk about that because the first nine wickets were also very important and everybody was working so hard. …the way our bowlers bowled and the whole team putting in the effort, there were a lot of things to celebrate,” she said. — PTI

Hope I inspired girls to play beautiful game

I have always been honest as a cricketer and hope I have been able to contribute to the growth of women’s cricket in India and the world. I hope I have been successful in inspiring the next generation of girls to play this beautiful game. For me, this journey has been the most satisfying. It has been exhilarating. I have cherished every moment of the last 20 years of my life as an international cricketer. Jhulan Goswami

Stay in your ground: MCC’s message to non-strikers

London: The MCC, the guardians of the laws of cricket, today stamped its seal of approval on all-rounder Deepti Sharma’s run out of Charlotte Dean in the third women’s ODI. “Whilst yesterday was indeed an unusual end to an exciting match, it was properly officiated and should not be considered as anything more,” the MCC said in a statement. “MCC’s message to non-strikers continues to be to remain in their ground until they have seen the ball leave the bowler’s hand. Then dismissals, such as the one seen yesterday, cannot happen.”