India will face their biggest challenge so far in the ICC Women's World T20 when they lock horns with a gifted Australian team in an inconsequential game, in Guyana, on Saturday.
Not considered among the top T20 teams in the world, India produced a power-packed performance, winning the opener against a formidable New Zealand side by 34 runs after skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's 51-ball 103.
India paid the price for dismal batting as they went down to England by two wickets in a thrilling group league encounter of the ICC Women's World Twenty20, in Dharamsala, on Tuesday
Former president Sharad Pawar may have made a comeback in the Mumbai Cricket Association after being elected unopposed on Friday, but the Union Minister for Agriculture announced that he has no plans to return to the Board of Control for Cricket in India set-up.
Leg spinner Pravin Tambe was on Monday surprisingly included in the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team to take on Jharkhand in the four-day Group A match starting at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on December 6.
India produced a clinical performance to thrash Bangladesh by 72 runs in the opening league fixture of the ICC Women's World T20, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
Unlucky to have lost the previous tie against Pakistan by just two runs via D/L method, the Indian women's cricket team will be fighting a survival battle when it takes on a strong England side at the ICC World Twenty20 in Dharamsala on Tuesday. A defeat would virtually throw the home team out of the competition and the Mithali Raj-led side would hope to put their best foot forward against the English eves. Unlike the previous edition, where India women were ousted in the group stages, they are a strong contender this time around, courtesy their recent good showing in the T20 format, including a historic 2-1 away series win over mighty Australia in January followed by the 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in the run up to the ongoing World T20. In their last match also, India could have won the tie had rains not played spoilsport.
'Mumbai is at a peak, from here it can only be a downward trend.'
UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir has dismissed questions his side had done damage to their reputation by refusing to meaningfully chase targets.
England will meet Australia in the final after the Southern Stars demolished hosts and last edition's winners West Indies by 71 runs.
How a swanky Mumbai cultural venue was transformed into a contact-less facility to combat coronavirus.
Young leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal said big grounds like the one at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur, provides him with a chance to flight the deliveries more in order to create a deception.
I-League: Plaza turns hero as EB pip Churchill 3-2
The move came at a time when deliberations between the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena seemingly reached the final stage on Friday.
Veteran seamer Jhulan Goswami was named in the Indian women's team for the T20 tri-series involving Australia and England with Harmanpreet Kaur back as the leader.
Mandhana blasted 9 fours and 3 sixes in her 55-ball innings and shared a 68-run third wicket partnership with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (43 runs off 27) to power India to a competitive 167 for 8 at the Providence Stadium.
The 41-time Ranji Trophy winners will be playing their 500th encounter in the National championship against Baroda at the Wankhede Stadium to become first among the equals.
The domestic season-ending five-day Irani Cup game between newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai and the Rest of India, commencing in Mumbai from Sunday, will provide fringe players a good opportunity to stake claims for the national team. The first class match is the last occasion for hopefuls from both ranks to impress the five-member national selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil before attention shifts totally to the T20 format, commencing with the ICC World T20 Championships. With the country expected to play over 15 Test matches post Indian Premier League till the end of next season, this match is the ideal platform for these players to strengthen their claims for the long Test haul. Mumbai, who clinched the Ranji crown for the 41st time last week by defeating Saurashtra by an innings, have a settled combination led by wicket keeper batsman Aditya Tare. They appear to be better prepared than the motley bunch of Rest of India, being led by Madhya Pradesh stumper Naman Ojha. However, they would take the Rest of India lightly at their own peril as the latter have a good bowling attack at their command even without originally named Barinder Sran and Nathu Singh who have been injured and replaced by Ankit Rajpoot and Anureet Singh, according to their coach Ashish Kapoor.
Mumbai City FC have been fairly inconsistent in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League so far, one could actually term their performance as the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
A summary of Monday's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
'Anil has been leading from the front right from the beginning and that should rub off on the team.'
Pacer Shardul Thakur had match figures of eight for 113 as Mumbai beat Delhi by 204 runs to enter the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy.
Opener Smriti Mandhana struck a stylish 67 off 41 balls, helping India post a decent total of 152 for five in 20 overs, but it was not enough as Australia chased down the total in 18.1 overs
'We are on the world map. Every country is watching this event.'
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Indian women's cricket team paid the price for a poor batting display against arch-rivals Pakistan, losing the crucial group league fixture by two runs via Duckworth-Lewis method in the ICC World T20, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
South Africa's bowlers backed up a solid batting performance led by captain AB de Villiers' 99 to ensure they qualified for the knockout phase of the World Cup with a 146-run victory over United Arab Emirates.
Round up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played across the country
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Karnataka captain R Vinay Kumar led from the front with a six-wicket haul to send Mumbai crashing for a lowly 44 in their first innings on day one of the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. With a lead of 158 runs, Karnataka were at the receiving end in their second essay, ending the day on 10 for 2 from five overs.
India's limited overs cricket will usher in a new era with the national selectors expected to name Virat Kohli as the captain when they pick the squad for three ODIs and three T20 Internationals against England in Mumbai on Thursday. Test skipper Kohli is expected to be anointed captain of the limited overs teams also, after Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to step down from the job in a surprise decision last night.
Round-up of the Ranji Trophy games being played across the country
Fringe players have a chance to prove their worth when India 'A' takes on Sri Lanka in the tourists' only warm-up match ahead of the hastily scheduled One-Day International series, in Mumbai on Thursday. The tour game, at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium, also provides Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a fractured finger and shoulder injury, an opportunity prove his fitness and return to the side for the last two games in the best-of-five ODI series.
The Bombay high court on Tuesday allowed the Board of Control for Cricket in India to host Indian Premier League matches in Maharashtra only till April 30 after which it has asked the organisers to shift the matches outside the state.
Statistical highlights of the first ODI match between India and New Zealand, in Dharamsala, on Sunday.
Star batsman Suresh Raina will look to get some batting practice ahead of the upcoming South Africa series along with some of the other fringe players as India 'A' take on Bangladesh 'A' in a three-match One-Day series, starting in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
A summary of Tuesday's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
Amid a plethora of senior party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis took the oath of office at a mega function organised at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
With this win, Australia have now gained a 12-2 lead in the series. The team had already secured the Ashes in the first T20I.
The 55-year-old had previously suggested that Twenty20 internationals should be stopped to alleviate players' schedules.
