Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma was crowned Player of the Tournament in India's maiden ICC Women's World Cup triumph, says she still cannot believe she bowled the title-winning delivery.
Delhi Capitals produced a splendid bowling effort before their batters, led by Niki Prasad, survived some anxious moments to register a narrow two-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in a last-ball thriller in the Women's Premier League
Meanwhile, England fast bowler Lauren Bell moved up two places to reach fourth in the rankings for bowlers after her three-wicket haul in the first T20I against India.
India women's captain Harmanpreet Kaur unveiled the team's new jersey for the upcoming ODI series at the BCCI's headquarters in Mumbai on Friday.
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.
'I think everyone's shot selections at that time... we could have done better with our shot selections.'
Laxman detailed how the women cricketers went about their preparation for the big event.
Amol Muzumdar never experienced the highs of an India cricketer but now he is a World Cup winning head coach -- only the third in the history of Indian cricket after Gary Kirsten and Rahul Dravid.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the clash, which means players will have to choose one competition or the other, was a loss for both leagues.
India have been drawn alongside six-time champions Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Group A for the women's T20 World Cup in October.
Kaur cited the example of men's IPL where youngsters get to play with the cream of world cricket.
Former wicketkeeper Saba Karim believes the recent Asia Cup row will have a cascading effect on India's ICC Women's World Cup match against Pakistan in Colombo, but said Harmanpreet Kaur's side will not be overly concerned about "outside noise" as the gulf between the two sides is too vast.
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.
'I never look at my individual score when I'm batting. I only look at the team total.'
India, who will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will launch their campaign with a clash against Sri Lanka
It was on this day that Harmanpreet went on to play a match-winning knock of 171 not out against Australia in the semi-finals of the ICC Women's World Cup.
India registered a dominant six-wicket win in the fourth T20I to seal their first-ever women's T20I series victory against England. With the win on Tuesday, the visitors have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana says the biggest change in the women's team since the last T20 World Cup is the belief that every player is a potential "match-winner" now, a shift driven by greater focus on fitness and preparation.
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.
They weren't up for a windfall even after the trophy but life was certain to get a lot better as some sponsors and state governments stepped up to lift them financially.
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.
Star batter Harmanpreet Kaur struck form with a timely hundred as India eked out a narrow two-run victory over South Africa in a warm-up match of the ICC Women's World Cup, in Rangiora, New Zealand, on Sunday.
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.
Just hours ahead of India's Women's T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia, the Indian team had a selection headache on their hands as they were dealt a massive injury blow.
Harmanpreet shared the photo on one of her Instagram Stories
The Indian men's and women's cricket teams, led by captains Shubman Gill and Harmanpreet Kaur, met King Charles III, at St. James's Palace.
India have figured out a style of play in ODIs, and will be real threat: Australia skipper Healy
At one stage, New Zealand and Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Sophie Devine even made a plea for pushing back the boundary limits.
England beat India by eight wickets in rain-affected 2nd women''s ODI to level series 1-1
Amanjot Kaur's superb all-round showing steered Mumbai Indians to a thrilling four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Expressing happiness over her daughter's achievement, Kaur's mother said the entire family used to enjoy her game.
Smriti Mandhana's elegant maiden ton leads India to 97-run win over England in 1st T20I
India's T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur is set to represent the Surrey Stars in Kia Super League, the T20 tournament hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after a successful stint with Sydney Thunders in Women's Big Bash League, last year.
MI will aim to seal their direct qualification to the final by finishing at the top when they face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final league match on Tuesday.
This is India's 2nd win in as many games.
India eye maiden women's T20I series win over England; hosts to miss injured skipper Brunt
Smriti Mandhana-led IPL Trailblazers compete against IPL Supernovas, to be captained by Harmanpreet Kaur.
The women's exhibition games were confirmed by the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly last week. The Indian team has not played since T20 World Cup final in March.
Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Jemimah hold key to India's T20 World Cup campaign
Australia registered a series-clinching seven-run win over India
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