India women T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been having a torrid time with the bat off late and luck too seems to have deserted her. Things went from bad to worse for the middle-order batter on Friday in the third women's ODI against New Zealand. She was caught napping after playing a shot and had to pay the price with her wicket. India went on to lose the match in Queenstown by three wickets, with New Zealand taking an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.
The incident took place in the 28th over with India in a strong position.
Batting on 13, Harmanpreet came down the track to a delivery from Frances Mackay and played a firm push that went straight back to the bowler. Instead of getting back into the crease, the Indian batter just stood there.
Mackay, on the other hand, threw the ball back immediately to the wicketkeeper who whipped the bails off in a flash. Harmanpreet belatedly put in a dive but it wasn't enough as replays showed that the Indian had failed to get back in, in time.
Watch Harmanpreet Kaur's bizarre run out here in India Women vs New Zealand Women 3rd ODI here:
Overall, India gave a good account of themselves but the bowlers just couldn't get the job done at crucial junctures which cost India dear.
Put into bat, Sabbhineni Meghana and Shafali Verma gave India a flying start, both scoring fine half-centuries. However, Yastika Bhatia, captain Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur couldn't kick on after starting well.
Despite finding little support, Deepti Sharma scored a run-a-ball 69 not out to take India to a score of 279 all out in 49.3 overs.
Jhulan Goswami gave India the perfect start with the ball, removing the dangerous Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates within the first three overs. But like in the second ODI, India failed to make their advantage count.
Amelia Kerr (67) and Amy Satterthwaite (59) bailed their team out of trouble while Lauren Down (64) and Katey Martin added the finishing touches as the hosts reached the target with five balls to spare.