Kranti Gaud, from Ghuwara in Chhatarpur, Bundelkhand, played a crucial role in leading the Indian women's cricket team to the World Cup final with her bowling performance.
On Sunday, Goud repaid the faith shown in her with a telling spell of 3 for 20, that included three maidens, to derail Pakistan's chase of 247.
Batter Pratika Rawal has been added to India's women's cricket squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia, marking her return after recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the World Cup.
Pratika Rawal along with left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma and seamer Kranti Gaud received their maiden long-format call-ups for the one-off Test against Australia.
Arundhati Reddy's 4/22 and Shafali Verma's cameo power India to a 21-run DLS win over Australia in the opening Women's T20I in Sydney.
Kamalini, Vaishnavi earn maiden ODI call-ups; Shreyanka, Fulmali return to T20I squad
UP Warriorz will start with a clear edge when they take on a struggling Gujarat Giants in Vadodara on Thursday, as the race for the remaining two playoff spots in the Women's Premier League heats up.
Delhi Capitals, the losing finalists of the first three seasons, have not made an ideal start under the new leadership of Jemimah Rodrigues. It is still early days but Rodrigues and Co. would be desperate to get their campaign back on track.
Former champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru hammered UP Warriorz by eight wickets to enter the WPL final and virtually knock the opposition out of the playoff race, in Vadodara, on Thursday.
UP Warriorz will lean heavily on new captain Meg Lanning as they seek to bounce back after finishing bottom of the standings last season.
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Delhi Capitals will have their fate in their own hands as they look for a win against UP Warriorz in the final league match of the Women's Premier League match in Vadodara
Table-toppers Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look to make amends with the bat after two consecutive defeats and lock their berth in the final when they take on a depleted UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League in Vadodara
Devine stars as Gujarat Giants beat UP Warriorz by 45 runs
Winless in the first three outings, the Warriorz opened their account on Thursday, beating defending champions Mumbai Indians by seven wickets, and they are set to face each other for the second time in three days.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look to build on those gains when they take on a star-studded UP Warriorz in the WPL in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
Ankita's father, Virendra Singh Bhandari, and mother, Soni Devi, met Dhami on Wednesday night and handed him a letter demanding an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge.
3rd Women's T20I: India look to seal series with another dominant show against Sri Lanka
Having retained the majority of their squad, MI will be the team to beat given their formidable batting, but Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals will be out to spoil their party.
The first three matches were low-scoring affairs, but the fourth T20I was a run-fest, with both India and Sri Lanka registering their highest-ever totals in the format.
Formidable India will be eager to register a dominance-extending fourth victory on the bounce in the fourth women's T20I against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Leading international cricketers, including Laura Wolvaardt and India's World Cup hero Deepti Sharma, will go under the hammer at the Women's Premier League auction in Delhi on Thursday, with bidding wars also expected for homegrown Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani.
On paper, India are overwhelming favourites to win the series against Chamari Athapaththu-led visitors.
Kamalini, Vaishnavi two new faces in India Women's squad for T20Is against Sri Lanka
"I didn't even know there was an Indian women's cricket team," said pacer Kranti Goud as she reminisced her journey from Madhya Pradesh's obscure Ghuwara village to the very top of the sport she picked up by chance.
Opener Shafali Verma smashed a quickfire half-century as India women thrashed Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second T20 International in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
A superb 84-ball 102 from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and a splendid 6-52 from young pacer Kranti Goud helped India Women steer to a sensational 13-run win in the final ODI against England to clinch the three-match series 2-1 at Chester-le-Street, Durham, on Tuesday.
Jemimah stars in India's comprehensive eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka in first women's T20I
A Delhi court granted bail to six protesters arrested in connection with a protest at India Gate, where slogans were allegedly raised in support of a slain Maoist commander. Bail was denied to four others, and decisions on other pleas are pending.
Kranti Gaud, a member of India's World Cup-winning women's team, spoke about her steely determination and resolve to turn dreams into reality.
'A total of 19 players have registered in the highest base-price bracket of Rs.50 lakh, 11 players in the Rs. 40 lakh bracket, and 88 players in the Rs.30 lakh bracket.'
'Feeling really good that I'm the Player of the Match in a World Cup match. People in my village would be proud. They've put on a big LED screen to watch the match.'
All-rounder Amanjot Kaur did handle pace duties with Gaud, but India missed another proper bowling option in their line-up, be it pacers Renuka Thakur and Arundhati Reddy or spinner Radha Yadav.
Gaud bowled a match-winning spell of 3 for 20 in her 10 overs against Pakistan in the ICC Women's World Cup match on Sunday.
The seasoned duo of Meg Lanning and Sophie Devine were also among the marquee picks. Giants bought Devine for Rs 2 crore, while UP Warriorz landed Lanning for Rs 1.90 crore.
As India chase history at home in Navi Mumbai, while Laura Wolvaardt's South Africa will look to script their own fairytale, by finally breaking their run of heartbreaks at ICC events.
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