Canberra, February 19 – Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur achieved a remarkable feat on Thursday, becoming the player with the most international appearances in women's cricket during the second T20I against Australia at the Manuka Oval.
This historic appearance marked Kaur's 356th international match for India, surpassing the previous record of 355 matches held by New Zealand legend Suzie Bates.
With this achievement, Kaur now leads the all-time list of international appearances in women's cricket, ahead of Bates, Australia's Ellyse Perry (349 matches), and former India captain Mithali Raj (333 matches). England legend Charlotte Edwards rounds out the top five with 309 appearances.
Kaur, who made her international debut in 2009, has had a successful career across all three formats. Her impressive record includes six Test matches, 161 ODIs, and 189 T20Is, with this milestone match also being her 189th appearance in the T20I format.
Kaur's latest milestone adds to an already impressive career marked by leadership and significant achievements. She led India to their first ODI World Cup victory in 2025 and recently oversaw a T20I series win in England. Earlier this month, she was also honored with the Padma Shri for her outstanding contribution to Indian cricket.
India entered the match with a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series, which is part of a broader multi-format tour that also includes three ODIs and a one-off Test.
India registered a 21-run victory over Australia via the DLS method in the first T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground, largely thanks to a career-best bowling performance from Arundhati Reddy.
Reddy's outstanding figures of 4-22 helped bowl Australia out for 133 in 18 overs, despite brief resistance from Georgia Wareham (30), Phoebe Litchfield (26), and Ellyse Perry (20). Australia's innings collapsed dramatically, losing five wickets for just 12 runs after a promising partnership.
In reply, India made a strong start with openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana adding 50 runs in 5.1 overs. However, heavy rain halted play, and with no further action possible, India were declared the winners under the DLS method. This victory gave India an early advantage in the multi-format series.
