Skipper Mithali Raj led from the front with an 89-run knock to save the Indian women's cricket team from a whitewash by guiding it to a comfortable five-wicket in the third and final ODI against Australia in Hobart on Sunday. The Indians, having already surrendered the series by losing the first two matches, managed to end the tour on a positive note with a consolation victory. Electing to bat after winning the toss, the Australian team lost a couple of early wickets before half-centuries by Elyse Perry (50) and Alex Blackwell (60) helped the team post 231/7 in their 50 overs. Blackwell's 60 from 64 balls was noteworthy given that Australia's strong batting line-up struggled to score freely in the face of a disciplined bowling display from India.
Harmanpreet Kaur got back among the runs with a 63-run knock in the fifth ODI against New Zealand and followed that up with a century (104) in the World Cup warm-up match against South Africa.
Mithali Raj has held onto her second spot in the batting ODI rankings, while Smriti Mandhana has risen four slots to take the eighth spot.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli joined the chorus of top Indian cricketers in congratulating Mithali Raj on becoming the highest run-getter in the history of women's ODIs.
'Another change of coach will effect our growth and we will have to start from the scratch. And whatever may be the reason for Ramesh Sir's and Mithali Raj's conflicts, they should solve it across the table like a family and call it truce. This will provide more sense and security to them and the entire team'
'I'm playing for the first time with pink ball, so I can't really say what the challenges would be, but yes whatever little I have faced in the nets, it does seam quite a bit.'
'Harmanpreet Kaur will lead India for the first time in a global event and I think she is up for the challenge both as a captain and as a player'
Star all-rounder Harmanpreet Singh was on Tuesday named captain of the Indian women's cricket team for the five-match T20 series against South Africa, starting February 13 in Potchefstroom.
England had enforced a follow-on on the visitors after they folded for 231 while chasing hosts first innings total of 396 for nine declared.
Mithali Raj played a captain's knock to guide India Women to a consolation four-wicket win over England
Shafali Verma can dominate all three formats of the game after the teenage opener's fairytale Test debut in England.
Indian women's cricket coach Ramesh Powar insisted that Mithali Raj's axing from the World T20 semi-final was based on strategy and not acrimony.
The celebrations after the 2017 World Cup went on for the next few months. But there was one question that the Indian cricketers failed to respond to in their interviews. 'What was their next assignment?' Nobody knew; the players were waiting for the BCCI to tell them. The BCCI, with barely any time from its endless legal tangles, had nothing in mind immediately. The likes of Australia and England were back on the field, battling it out in the Ashes in front of sizeable crowds. But for Mithali Raj and team, there was no road ahead.
The first five games of the ICC event have caused a lot of movement in the women's ODI player rankings with Australia skipper Meg Lanning climbing up two spots in the rankings for batters.
Indian women's cricket team coach Tushar Arothe resigned on Tuesday after his position became untenable due to alleged differences with some of the star players, who had protested against his training methods.
Modi leads politicians and sportspersons in wishing countrymen on National Sports Day
Smriti Mandhana, Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar scored half-centuries to help India post 244 for 7 in their ICC women's World Cup opener against Pakistan, in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, on Sunday.
Host of match-winners and Dhoni's expertise make India favourites, says Mithali Raj
Following the World Cup, companies queue up to sign Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur.
The women's team will take on England in a one-off Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is
India's women's team head coach W V Raman said his players lacked game time and were short on "mental stamina and "cricketing fitness" after the 1-4 series defeat.
Mithali Raj played a captain's knock, scoring an unbeaten 79 but South Africa registered a five-wicket victory in a low-scoring fifth and final women's ODI to seal the series 4-1.
Indian women's cricket team's confidence will be high as it heads into a five-game Twenty20 against South Africa.
Mithali Raj's 36-ball 44 and Diana David's four-wicket haul went in vain as India suffered a 11-run loss against New Zealand in their Group B opener of the Women's World Twenty20 in Basseterre, St Kitts, on Thursday.
'Fitness and fielding are two things I want my team to improve'
Mandhana, who has 755 points, slipped to the number two spot after she missed India's recently concluded ODI series
'Like any team, we want to see continual improvement in all facets of the game. There are some big global events coming up starting with the ICC 50 over World Cup in NZ which is a huge focus for us currently.'
India women couldn't have asked for a better start to the series, defeating World champions England by 66 runs in the opener at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
India in their allotted 50-overs posted a target of 192 for the hosts. West Indies got off to a bad start
The Supernovas, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, have been invincible so far winning all the previous two editions.
Sporting stars condole Mangeshkar's demise, say her legacy will remain forever
Indian women's cricket's biggest icon spoke on a range of issues covering her legacy, experiences of playing in pre and post BCCI era
India women's coach Ramesh Powar was sacked as the head coach with less than two months to go for the T20 World Cup.
The T20 Challenge, to be played during the IPL play-offs, will begin with last year's finalist Supernovas taking on Velocity in the opening game.
The Indian women's team was originally slated to play a bilateral series comprising three ODIs and three T20Is against England in June which got postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Smriti Mandhana's 67-ball 66 and the bowlers' disciplined show powered them to an 81-run win over West Indies
India have dominated New Zealand so far in the series and won the second game by eight runs. The third and final ODI will be played on Friday.
India and England are set to play a one-off Test from Wednesday
The Indian women's cricket team survived a mid-innings collapse to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the second Twenty20 International to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, in Ranchi on Wednesday. After restricting Sri Lanka to 107/8 in 20 overs, the Indians endured some anxious moments before coming through in 19 overs. The decision to bat first backfired severely on the Lankans with Ekta Bisht (3/22) and Poonam Yadav (3/17) combining to rip through the visiting line-up. Dilani Manodara's 27 was the best that a Lankan batter could manage, followed by skipper Shashikala Siriwardene's 26-run effort. In reply, India's in-form captain Mithali Raj was the star performer for the hosts, striking an unbeaten 51 which came off 52 balls and was studded with half a dozen fours.
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