“Every plan we had, she had an answer”: Lanning on Harmanpreet’s 2017 semi-final knock

Former Australia captain Meg Lanning has lavished praise on India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, a previous member of the Australian national team, for her leadership skills and for her innings in the 2017 World Cup semi-final match. Lanning said that Kaur was a captain who was able to get results herself or as a captain by the way she moved her team around the ground, and that it was "always a good challenge" to face a team with Kaur as captain.

On her memories of facing Kaur in the 2017 semi-final match in Derby after Kaur scored an unreal 171 not out, Lanning clearly remembered every plan Australia tried; Kaur had an answer. "We had every plan, but she had an answer to it," Lanning reiterated the assistance felt on the ground during that day, noting Kaur's autos are where we met when." "Once Harman got going, we couldn't do anything; she was just hitting every ball we bowled for 4." The innings was exceptional and dismantled the Australian attack at the same time, raising Kaur's stature as one of the meanest competitors in women's cricket.

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Lanning on Kaur’s leadership and World Cup challenge

As they look ahead to the challenges that await Kaur and the Indian team while hosting the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025, Lanning reflected on the pressures surrounding the current moment. Drawing on her own experience of leading Australia for their home World Cup, Lanning noted the pressure that comes with it (really good pressure) and that being in the spotlight comes with benefits, as a home World Cup is the best, as the home fans backing you and being able to draw energy and motivation from them is also really special. 

The competitive nature of their leadership rivalry has been on display in the Women's Premier League (WPL) as well. In the 2023 final, Lanning captained the Delhi Capitals and Kaur captained the Mumbai Indians. Lanning admitted that the Mumbai squad had "a lot of great players" and was a great challenge for her team. While at the same time, Lanning found what she believed was a strong opening partnership with Shafali Verma as the best opening partnership in the tournament! Ultimately, though, it was Kaur's Mumbai Indians who won the match, claiming the first WPL title.

For her part, Harmanpreet has also given the highest regard for Lanning's captaincy, describing Lanning's competitiveness and ability to lead Australia and win multiple ICC trophies with Australia. Both leaders acknowledge the respect they have for each other, but also that they are still both building a legacy as leaders of women's cricket.