From being bossed over by boys to bossing over Aussies, the Harmanpreet Kaur story

Growing up, Harmanpreet Kaur played a variety of sport, be it football, hockey, cricket or volleyball. But the first sign of her love for cricket came at the age of four, when her father gifted her a hockey stick as well as a cricket bat.

Harmanpreet kept the cricket bat with her.

“She may be good at other sports but cricket is her first and last love,” Harmanpreet’s sister Hemjeet, younger by two years, told DNA on Friday.

In fact, one of the first T-shirts that her father, Harmander Bhullar, got Harmanpreet had an image of a batsman printed on it. “This T-shirt had some impact on her life,” said Hemjeet.

Indeed. Harmanpreet's destructive innings of 171 not out in a Women's World Cup semifinal has made the world sit up and take notice of India’s exploits in women’s cricket.

The knock, coming against Australia on Thursday night, took India to their second World Cup final after a 12-year gap. It also brought comparisons with one of the all-time great ODI knocks ever – 175 not out – by Kapil Dev in the 1983 World Cup, almost six years before Harmanpreet was born.

While the 1983 World Cup win by the men’s team inspired a generation of cricketers to take up the game, Harmanpreet was encouraged to play cricket by her sports-loving family in Moga, a district in Punjab about an hour’s drive from Jalandhar.

The Bhullar household in Moga was elated at their eldest daughter’s blitzkrieg that uprooted defending champions Australia from the World Cup.

After India's victory, Harmanpreet was too tired to talk to her parents over the phone on Thursday night. Yet, she did not fail to call them. She had a brief conversation with her mother “as she was tired and not well”.

Hemjeet said the family had a long conversation with their 28-year-old darling on Friday morning, in which “she was in a good mood, feeling very good about her last evening’s knock and was looking forward to the final”.

“We all are hoping for the best,” said Hemjeet.

Not just them, the entire country is looking forward to Harmanpreet carrying her form to yet another game – the final against England at Lord’s on Sunday.

The manner in which Harmanpreet scored did not surprise any of her family members. The power-hitting – her sixes would have cleared the boundary in a men’s game – was the result of her training with the boys from a young age.

“She is known for her fours and sixes,” Hemjeet said. “She has always been a clean striker of the ball. She had to compete with the boys from a young age and had to do extra hard work to stay on par with them, if not ahead.”

It was not all smooth sailing for Harmanpreet when she started. Moga did not have proper facilities for cricket, said her sister. In fact, Harmanpreet’s batch was the pioneer of cricket for girls in that district.

Harmanpreet struggled during her rise through her teens. Not the rags-to-riches kind of struggle but one where she had to keep pace with boys while training and playing with them.

Hemjeet recalled: “Boys being boys, used to behave the way they are. Harman had only one focus – that to perform with the bat and ball. She never strayed from her line of concentration even when the boys indulged in sledging.”

Harmanpreet’s career in cricket is a sort of realisation of a dream of her family members. “Our father played cricket at school level but could not pursue it for family reasons. He used to take Harmanpreet to a ground and started coaching her until she was in Class 11 or 12. Before that, we had not heard of women’s cricket,” Hemjeet said, adding that their younger brother, Gurjinder Singh, is attempting to make his mark in the U-19 level.

It was then that Harmanpreet was introduced to a proper coach, Yadwinder Singh.

“He took her to his academy and took all the responsibility including paying her fees and providing facilities to play. He gave her enough chance to play with the boys and that has how Harman’s rise has been,” Hemjeet said.

From there, she has almost risen to the pinnacle of batting, becoming the fifth highest individual scorer in women’s ODIs. If only it was a full 50-over game and not one reduced to 42 overs, she could've climbed that latter higher.

There was no shortage of drama in her knock as well. There was anxiety followed by anger when she reached the three-figure mark. Harmanpreet was fuming at non-striker Deepti Sharma, who is eight years younger, as both had to dive to make their respective creases so that India’s No. 4 completed her third ODI hundred.

Harmanpreet’s family, too, felt the nerves while following the match closely at home.

“It was crucial for India that Harman stayed at the wicket. We did not want her to lose her wicket. That run-out chance was a nervous moment for us too. It was an amazing innings, perhaps the best she has played so far,” Hemjeet said.

While she is an aggressive player on the field, Harmanpreet is completely cool off it. “She is a calm person, otherwise,” Hemjeet said. “She loves doing other things. She plays with her brother and father whenever she is home – be it volleyball or football.”

But the FC Barcelona supporter and Lionel Messi fan is rarely at home as she is employed with Western Railway in Mumbai.

“We miss her badly at family functions as much as she misses home. But cricket is her first priority. It is her dream-come-true that she is representing the country. We all are enjoying her performance,” Hemjeet said.

So is the country. And after her epic knock on Thursday, Harmanpreet has given the nation something else to do – dream of a maiden World Cup title for women.