Harmanpreet Kaur became fourth Indian cricketer after Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and former women’s captain Mithatli Raj to cross 2000 runs in Twenty20 internationals for India. Kaur, who can  5th T20I against South Africa Women. The current Indian women skipper remained not out on 34 runs to guide India Women to a 5-wicket victory and seal the six-match T20I series with one game in hand. Kaur, 30, now has 2003 T20I runs from 99 games and is only behind Raj (2364), Rohit (2443) and Kohli (2450) in the Indian elite T20I list. Kaur is also the eighth women’s player to complete 2000 runs in Twenty20 internationals.

Kohli leads the Indian list with 2450 runs from 73 matches, while compatriot and deputy Rohit is second in the standings with 2443 runs from 98 games. The Indian duo also heads the list of highest T20I run-scorers in the men’s category. Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Raj is the highest Indian T20I run-scorer with 2364 runs from 89 games. New Zealand international Suzie Bates leads the women’s list of scoring most runs in T20 internationals.

Bates is also the only international cricketer to score over 3000 international runs in T20Is. The 32-year-old has 3100 runs from 111 T20I games. Kaur is placed eighth in the list of the highest T20I run-scorers, while teammate Raj is sixth in the elite list. West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor (2900 runs in 100 T20Is), Charlotte Edwards of England (2605 runs in 95 matches), Australia’s Meg Lanning (2580 runs 94 games) and Deandra Dottin of the Windies (2368 runs from 110 games) complete the top five in the elite list. England’s Sarah Taylor with 2177 T20I runs from 90 games is ranked seventh.

Kaur was also instrumental in sealing the T20I series win for India. Her unbeaten 34 runs, which comprised of four boundaries, helped India take a 3-0 lead in the six-match T20I series. Earlier, batting first, South Africa could only manage 98 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. Not of the African batswomen managed to cross the 20-run barrier as the likes of Radha Yadav and Deepti Sharma kept on taking regular wickets. Yadav finished with figures of 3/23 from 4 overs, while Sharma accounted for 2/19. Sharma also played an important role with a steady 16 runs to help India romp home with 17 balls and five wickets in hand.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2019 11:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).