India Women’s Cricketer Slammed on Live TV for Shockingly Sloppy Mistake vs England: ‘Very Poor from Harleen Deol’
In July 2021, Harleen Deol stunned cricket fans with an incredible catch on the boundary during a T20I against England at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, instantly going viral on social media. Fast forward four years, and Harleen was back in Southampton again this July—only this time, for all the wrong reasons.
During the first ODI against England, Harleen faced harsh criticism for a glaring lapse in match awareness that led to her getting run out. The incident didn’t just draw fire on social media but also from commentators watching live. Former England batter Mark Butcher didn’t hold back, calling her dismissal “sloppy” and “extraordinarily poor cricket.”
"She should be in comfortably," Butcher said when the umpire referred the decision upstairs, only to be shocked by the replay showing Harleen was run out because she failed to ground her bat or get her feet inside the crease. "That is as sloppy as it gets. Very, very poor cricket indeed. Harleen Deol can barely believe it, but she's only got herself to blame. That is quite extraordinary."
The run out happened in the 22nd over of India’s chase of 259 runs. Harleen pushed a ball from Charlie Dean towards mid-on, where England’s Alice Davidson-Richards was quick to react. While Harleen seemed to have made her ground safely, the on-field umpire suspected otherwise and referred it to the TV umpire.
The replay revealed the truth: Harleen hadn’t grounded her bat and her feet were still in the air when the stumps were broken. She was declared out for 27 runs off 44 balls.
Luckily for Harleen and India, the run out didn’t hurt the team’s chances. India went on to win by four wickets, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. England had posted 258/6, thanks to strong innings from Sophia Dunkley (83) and Davidson-Richards (53). Sneh Rana (2/31) and Kranti Goud (2/55) were the pick of the bowlers for India.
In response, Deepti Sharma held the innings together with an unbeaten 62, supported by Jemimah Rodrigues’ 48 and Amanjot Kaur’s unbeaten 20, guiding India to victory with 10 balls to spare.
