England beat India by eight wickets in rain-affected 2nd women''s ODI to level series 1-1
Smriti Mandhana's elegant maiden ton leads India to 97-run win over England in 1st T20I
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 India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup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.
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.
Skipper Alyssa Healy led from the front with a masterful 142 as Australia pulled off a record chase of 331 to beat India by three wickets in their Women's World Cup group match on Sunday.
India eye maiden women's T20I series win over England; hosts to miss injured skipper Brunt
Kaur cited the example of men's IPL where youngsters get to play with the cream of world cricket.
Amanjot Kaur's superb all-round showing steered Mumbai Indians to a thrilling four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
India, who will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will launch their campaign with a clash against Sri Lanka
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.
India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, are coming into the showpiece event on the back of a hard-fought ODI series loss to Australia, where opener Smriti Mandhana slammed two back-to-back centuries and the spinners, led by Deepti Sharma, giving a good account of themselves.
An unbeaten half-century by Deepti Sharma guided India to a four-wicket win over England in the first Women's ODI in Southampton on Wednesday.
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.
'I never look at my individual score when I'm batting. I only look at the team total.'
Jemimah Rodrigues rose through the ranks in Mumbai to become one of the key batters for India, but the journey wasn't easy.
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.
Star India batter Smriti Mandhana on Saturday admitted that her maiden T20 International hundred in the first match against England "took a long time coming" but was relieved to achieve the feat as she "had a habit of getting out".
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.
Harmanpreet shared the photo on one of her Instagram Stories
This is India's 2nd win in as many games.
At one stage, New Zealand and Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Sophie Devine even made a plea for pushing back the boundary limits.
Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Jemimah hold key to India's T20 World Cup campaign
Expressing happiness over her daughter's achievement, Kaur's mother said the entire family used to enjoy her game.
India must quickly move on from Friday's shock defeat against New Zealand to revive their fortunes in the women's T20 World Cup, batter Jemimah Rodrigues said.
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.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Sunday rued failing to capitalise on loose balls during her 63-run stand with Deepti Sharma for the fourth-wicket, as he side suffered a nine-run loss to Australia in a must-win women's T20 World Cup match in Dubai.
Australia registered a series-clinching seven-run win over India
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.
Smriti Mandhana-led IPL Trailblazers compete against IPL Supernovas, to be captained by Harmanpreet Kaur.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur called it a 'dream' after Mumbai Indians emerged champions of the inaugural Women's Premier League after beating Delhi Capitals in the final, in Mumbai on Sunday.
The Indian team last played on March 8 last year when they lost to Australia in the T20 World Cup final.
The severe backlash that the Indian cricket team faced before its Asia Cup clash against Pakistan was a major contributing factor to the 'No Handshake Policy.
She was in Mohali to take part in an event, where she cheered on as a group of 572 girls performed minute-long jump squats to create a new record.
WPL will be held this month in Mumbai across two venues -- DY Patil Stadium and Brabourne Stadium.
'Yes, I have applied this evening because Smriti (Mandhana), Harmanpreet (Kaur) have supported me and I can't let them (the girls) down by not applying'
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.
The Grade B has an annual retainer fee of Rs 30 lakh and veterans such as Jhulan Goswami, Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma are among 10 players in this bracket.
India and Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes the upcoming edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will play a crucial role in the team's preparation for the ODI World Cup, which India is hosting later this year. She also highlighted the impressive performance of the India U-19 women's team, who recently won their second T20 World Cup title. Mumbai Indians' bowling coach and team mentor, Jhulan Goswami, expressed confidence in the team's composition and the impact of the WPL on women's cricket in India.
India's T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur vowed to go all out against Australia in the three-match series, starting Thursday, saying the team needs to win it at all cost.
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