Legends lavish praise on Harleen Deol for her brilliant catch

England Women might have come out trumps against India Women with a win in the rain-marred first T20I, but the cherry was taken by Harleen Deol. The youngster pulled off an absolute stunner at the boundary to send Amy Jones back to the pavilion. Catches near the boundary and fielders’ presence of mind have become a common sight in cricket, but in the women’s game, it is still at a nascent stage.

Erin Burns and Fran Wilson have done it in the past for Australia and England respectively. However, for India, Deol has set the tone and aced it. She pulled out the jugglery act and held her nerves just in time to complete an outstanding catch. It was during the fag end of the first innings when Jones wanted to step on the gas by throwing around her bat in the 19th over.

But Jones couldn’t get a six, as Deol had other plans. She caught the ball at long-off, but then realised that she was tantalisingly close to the boundary rope. Hence she threw the ball back into play and decided to take the catch in time by putting a last-minute dive.

The terrific catch by the all-rounder was appreciated and lauded by all. Former England cricketer Isa Guha shared the video of the catch and hailed Deol’s efforts.

Legendary former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, too, was in awe of the catch pulled off by the 23-year-old. He took to Twitter to express his feelings.

That was a brilliant catch @imharleenDeol. Definitely the catch of the year for me!pic.twitter.com/pDUcVeOVN8

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 10, 2021

VVS Laxman lavishes praise on Harleen Deol

Cricketer-turned-commenter VVS Laxman also took to Twitter to laud Deol for her efforts. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, too, heaped praise on Deol. Popular Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar, also, took to Twitter to praise the fielding effort.