Deepti jumps two places to 5th, Mandhana continues to hold top spot in ODI rankings
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt scored a hundred for the ages before the seasoned Marizanne Kapp made the ball talk in good batting conditions to script a 125-run victory over England and enter their maiden Women's ODI Cup final, in Guwahati, on Wednesday.
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 inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma guided India to a historic 52-run victory over South Africa which saw the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 hosts lift the trophy for the first time.
In the league stage, South Africa suffered two heavy defeats and their batting came apart against spin in both games.
Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma's superb all-round showing powered India to a historic first-ever Women's ODI World Cup title after they outclassed South Africa by 52 runs in the final.
Thirush Kamini and Poonam Raut scored unbeaten centuries to take India Women to a commanding 211 for one against South Africa Women at the end of the first day's play in the one-off Test match in Mysore.
Mumbai Indians suffered a two-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals in their opening match, which was marred by a few controversial run-out decisions.
If the men of 1983 gave India a reason to dream, the women of 2025 could give it something rarer -- the courage to live that dream in full daylight, under an open sky that finally belongs to them, points out Prem Panicker.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will be playing an ODI World Cup final for the third time, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017 to Australia and England, respectively. This will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the final.
Rejuvenated by their thrilling super-over win over RCB, UP Warriorz will look to continue their momentum when they take on an upbeat Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League match in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Having set the pace with emphatic back-to-back victories, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be eyeing a hat-trick of sorts against star-studded Mumbai Indians in the WPL match at home on Friday.
India's top order did not take responsibility to bat well against South Africa, captain Harmanpreet Kaur said after her side lost by three wickets.
Mumbai Indians will take confidence from their emphatic victory against Gujarat Giants in their penultimate league game on Monday.
Harmanpreet Kaur ended with match figures of nine for 85 as India women thrashed their South Africa counterparts by an innings and 34 runs on the fourth and final day of the one-off Test match in Mysore.
South Africa boosted their hopes of reaching the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals with a convincing 80-run victory over Scotland in Dubai.
Powered by the all-round brilliance of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews, Mumbai Indians head into the Women's Premier League final as favorites to claim their second title, while Delhi Capitals hope to break their title jinx in what promises to be a thrilling showdown in Mumbai on Saturday.
UP Warriorz's 12 runs win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru knocked the defending champions out from the race to the play-offs on Saturday, confirming qualification for Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants in the process.
The players' auction ahead of the 2024 edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will be held on December 9 in Mumbai, the BCCI announced on Friday.
Beat England to reach maiden Women's T20 World Cup final in Cape Town on Friday.
Opener Mithali Raj held the innings together with an unbeaten half-century as Indian women notched up a comfortable seven-wicket victory over South Africa in the first T20 International, in Potchefstroom, on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the Women's T20 World Cup 2nd semi-final between South Africa and England in Cape Town on Friday.
With a line-up of thrilling matches and intense competition, the ICC Women's T20 World Cup is sure to captivate fans around the globe. Stay tuned for updates and highlights as the tournament unfolds. Ahead of the tournament, here's everything you need to know about the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
Also released from the squad are Devika Vaidya, Simran Shaikh and Shivali Shinde.
Pacer Pooja Vastrakar ran riot with a career-best bowling show of 4 for 13 before Smriti Mandhana shone with the bat, scoring an unbeaten half century, as India thrashed South Africa by 10 wickets in the third and final women's T20 International to level the series 1-1, in Chennai, on Tuesday.
Women's T20 World Cup set for first-time champion as New Zealand-South Africa clash in final
Images from the Women's T20 World Cup Final between Australia and South Africa played in Cape Town on Sunday
The duo progressed following their fine showing in India's victory over Pakistan in the women's T20 World Cup opener.
The Indian women's cricket team would be aiming for quick recovery from a rare setback when it takes on South Africa in the fourth Twenty20 International, where a win would give the visitors an unbeatable series lead, in Centurion, on Wednesday.
Mooney struck a match-winning unbeaten 74 as Australia claimed their sixth Women's T20 World Cup title
Team-wise list of players during WPL auction
Indian women's cricket team would look to continue its supremacy over South Africa when the two sides clash in the second Twenty20 International, in East London, on Friday.
Meg Lanning's 135 not out led her Australia side to a thumping five-wicket win over South Africa, continuing their unbeaten run at the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022 at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Tuesday.
The second edition of the Women's Premier League, beginning in Bengaluru on Friday with a high-profile match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and runners-up Delhi Capitals, will be optimistic about meeting its existential purpose of giving a wider platform to promising home-grown talents.
India Women inched closer to victory as they bundled out their South African counterparts for a meagre 234 and then reduced them to 83 for six after forcing a follow-on on day three of the one-off Test match in Mysore.
Danni Wyatt scored her second one-day international century as champions England crushed South Africa by 137 runs in Christchurch on Thursday to set up a mouthwatering Women's World Cup final against heavyweights Australia.
Indian women's team was also scheduled to tour England for the tri-series (also involving SA) but it had pulled out due to the health crisis in their own country.
Opener Rachael Haynes smashed a scintillating 130 as Australia scored a 12-run win over defending champions England in a high-scoring ICC Women's World Cup match, in Hamilton, on Saturday. In another match, South Africa handed Bangladesh a 32-run defeat in Dunedin.
India's middle-order collapsed after a fiery start as South Africa won the third Twenty20 International by five wickets to keep the five-match series alive, in Johannesburg, on Sunday.
