By Trisha Ghosal
Harmanpreet Kaur’s century at Chester-le-Street was spectacular, a captain’s innings at a time her team needed her most. It sealed the series for India and gave fans a moment to remember. But what followed, the Player of the Series announcement, felt like deja vu. Not because Harmanpreet doesn’t deserve acclaim, but because a young player, quietly producing gold across the series, was denied her moment in the sun. That player was Kranti Goud.
On her debut tour, she wasn’t just impressive. She was decisive. And she was ignored.
Kranti’s Spells Were Not Just Statistics — They Were Statements
Nine wickets in three matches. That’s what the scorebook says. But here’s what it doesn’t tell you.
It doesn’t tell you how Kranti’s inswingers wrecked England’s top order before they even had a chance to settle. It doesn’t capture the panic in the batters’ footwork as she angled the ball in at pace. It doesn’t tell you that she got Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones early, Nat Sciver-Brunt in her prime, Charlie Dean while counterattacking, and Davidson-Richards just as the match turned.
In the decider, England were at a strong position at 264/5. Enter Kranti. In a matter of overs, she’d flipped the match on its head. From “England favourites” to “India win”, her 6/52 was no cameo, it was the whole plot twist.