Indian women’s cricketer equals Virat Kohli’s record against Pakistan in Twenty20

Dubai: It was a performance worthy of the history books — calm under pressure, powerful with the bat, and decisive with the ball.

In just her 14th T20I, Amanjot Kaur produced a stunning all-round display to guide India to a 24-run win over England in Nottingham on Monday. Only later did the scale of her achievement come into focus: the 24-year-old had just matched a record held by Virat Kohli.

Kohli's feat against Pakistan

Amanjot became only the second Indian cricketer — after Kohli — to score a half-century and take a wicket in a T20 International. The former men’s team captain had achieved the feat during the ICC World Twenty20 in 2012, when he scored 78 not out and dismissed Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez in Colombo.

Against England, Amanjot was the architect of India’s 181 for four, scoring an unbeaten 63 and stitching a 93-run stand with Jemimah Rodrigues. Her measured knock helped set up a big total before Richa Ghosh added the finishing touches in the final overs.

“The credit goes to Jemi, the way she paced her innings,” Amanjot said, speaking to the ICC after the match. “She told me to stay on the wicket. The wicket was quite damp and slow, compared to the one in Nottingham [for the first T20], and we planned to take it deep. We wanted to get going in the 16th to 18th overs, and Richa finished well too.”

Keeping it simple

Amanjot’s contributions weren’t limited to the bat. With England threatening to fight back, she dismissed Nat Sciver-Brunt, the hosts’ captain and one of their key batters, to swing the momentum firmly in India’s favour.

“My plan [against Sciver-Brunt] was very simple: to keep it on the stumps and bowl. We knew 170 was a par total on this wicket,” she said. “It is the first of many [fifties]. I’m being called an all-rounder, but I’d still say I’m the purest of the batters and purest of bowlers.”

India had earlier won the first T20I by a thumping 97-run margin, and the confidence showed again as the team executed their plans with precision. Amanjot said this “new Indian team” was ready to dominate in all conditions.

It's all about preparations

“T20Is are very fast-paced, and we don’t get time to plan on the ground while the match is on,” she said. “We are aware of that and came well-prepared. They had specific plans for every batter, and we worked out our approach too — planning where to hit each bowler.”

With a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, India will aim to wrap up the series when they take on England in the third T20I on Friday.