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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Cricket-India’s Kaur Becomes Highest-Capped Woman In International Cricket H armanpreet Kaur became the highest- capped player in women’s international cricket when she made her 356th ap- pearance for India in Thursday’s (Feb. 19, 2026) Twenty20 match against Australia, surpassing New Zealand great Suzie Bates. Indian captain Kaur, 36, has now played six tests, 161 One-Day Internationals and 189 T20 matches for her country since 2009. Bates, two years her elder, has not played for New Zealand since making her 355th international appearance in October during the ODIWorld Cup. Kaur’s compatriot Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the most international appearances in men’s cricket, having represented India 664 times across formats. Kaur has scored eight centuries and 38 fifties for India, and led the country to their firstWom- en’sWorld Cup title on home soil in November. “Harman has been a special player for India. I want to congratulate her for the massive achieve- ment of being the highest-capped women’s player in the history of the game,” India’s head coach Amol Muzumdar told reporters. Kaur was India’s highest scorer with a knock of 36 as India lost to Australia by 19 runs in Griffith on Thursday, levelling the three-match T20 series, with the decider set for Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. -Reuters PHOTO:Action Imagesvia Reuters/Ed Sykes Third Women’s One Day International – England v India – Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, Britain – July 22, 2025 India’s Harmanpreet Kaur celebrates after reaching her century. Cricket-India Cruise Past Netherlands To Maintain Perfect Record At T20 World Cup I ndia beat the Netherlands by 17 runs in their final Twenty20World Cup Group A match onWednesday in Ahmedabad as the co-hosts and defending cham- pions maintained their perfect record heading into the Super Eight stage. After winning the toss and opting to bat, India posted 193-6 on a slow pitch on the back of Shivam Dube’s 66 off 31 balls in the middle order while Logan van Beek finished with figures of 3-56. In response, the already-eliminated Dutch side man- aged only 176-7 after Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets for just 14 runs while Dube also took two wickets to win the player of the match award. “I try to hit boundaries. I enjoy hitting sixes, but the situation demands (if) the bowler is good, I have to be prepared. I have to prepare myself to hit boundaries as well,” Dube said on his career-high knock. “The captain and coach told me that I have to keep the strike rate high when I come in the middle overs, but it depends on the situation.” THIRD STRAIGHT DUCK FOR SHARMA India had a nightmare start in the first over when Ab- hishek Sharma — the world’s number one ranked batter — fell for a third consecutive duck in the tournament after he was bowled by spinner Aryan Dutt. Fellow opener Ishan Kishan (18) also fell victim to Dutt in bizarre fashion when he attempted to play the pull shot but failed to connect as the ball came off his arm and rolled into the stumps to dislodge a bail. India’s troubles deepened when Tilak Varma (31) departed courtesy of a stunning diving catch in the deep by 41-year-old Roelof van der Merwe, while Suryakumar Yadav’s dismissal for 34 left the defending champions wobbling at 110-4. Yet Dube entered the fray and unleashed a barrage of boundaries with four fours and six sixes in his match- defining knock, supported by Hardik Pandya’s quickfire 30 in the death overs to propel India to their imposing total. “The way he (Dube) batted in the middle overs took pressure off everyone and taking it to 190 on this wicket, I think it was a very good score,” India captain Yadav said. SLUGGISH START FOR NETHERLANDS The Netherlands started their chase sluggishly as India bowled numerous dot balls. As the required run rate mounted, Chakravarthy provided the breakthrough in the powerplay by uproot- ing Max O’Dowd’s leg stump before Pandya had Michael Levitt caught in the deep. Chakravarthy was on a hat-trick after dismissing Colin Ackermann and Dutt, while Dube removed danger man Bas de Leede for 33 to leave the Dutch reeling at 112-5. Despite scoring 51 runs off the final four overs and benefiting from dropped catches, the Netherlands had left themselves too steep a mountain to climb, ending their campaign with three defeats and one victory. -R euters PHOTOS:REUTERS/AMIT DAVE Cricket – ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 – Group A – India v Netherlands – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India – February 18, 2026 India’s Suryakumar Yadav celebrates with teammates after the match. Cricket – ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 – Group A – India v Netherlands – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India – February 18, 2026 India fans in the stands during the match. Sports News India Times (February 21, 2026 - February 27, 2026) February 27, 2026 27