Smriti Mandhana failed while Harmanpreet Kaur shined in their respective Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) campaign openers for Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunders, on Saturday, December 8.

Having flown straight from the ICC Women's World T20 in the Caribbean for another marquee competition down under, the left-hander and her skipper found themselves at opposite ends of the fortune, with Smriti being dismissed for naught on just the second ball against Melbourne Stars at Burnie and Harmanpreet making crucial runs versus Sydney Sixers.

Smriti then saw her side recover from the early loss of their openers, with a significant performance from Heather Knight who amassed an unbeaten 82 which took the total to 158/6 at the end of 20 overs.

But, Stars eventually went past the target on the back of Erin Osbourne and Mignon du Preez's fantastic efforts.

Harmanpreet, on the other hand, made an all-round contribution to her team as she chipped in with three overs for 0/29 to Ellyse Perry’s troops. Before helping her team find its feet from a highly precarious situation at 4/35 with an astounding but really, a characteristic knock of 45 off 28 balls.

Having played a knock glittered with four boundaries and three sixes, she got dismissed with still another 76 runs needed off 35 balls by left-arm pacer Lauren Cheatle. Thunder eventually fell short by 36 runs.

But, for Indian fans, Harman's magnificent innings gives hope for some more fireworks as the tournament progresses. They'll also be optimistic of an immediate resurgence from Smiriti Mandhana.

(Inputs from CricketNext)