Vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh slammed a hat-trick as the Indian men's hockey team beat Wales 4-1 in its final Pool B match to qualify for the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday.
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.
Gurjant Singh (10th minute) gave Soorma the lead early in the game while Jugraj Singh (56th) equalised for the Tigers towards the end.
Nilakshika Silva's blistering 33-ball 56 powered Sri Lanka to a thrilling three-wicket victory over India in the women's Tri-series, ending a seven-year losing streak against their rivals.
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 India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup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.
Indian women's cricket team skipper Smriti Mandhana created history on Wednesday by smashing the fastest century in One-Day Internationals by an Indian woman cricketer.
Germany, however, regained their lead in the blink of an eye as the ball again got the better of Pathak after it came off Prinz's stick.
India women's coach Ramesh Powar was sacked as the head coach with less than two months to go for the T20 World Cup.
Harmanpreet Singh had also captained the side in the recent series against Australia, where the side fought hard before losing the five-match rubber 1-4.
Spain took sweet revenge for their defeat against India in the bronze-medal match at the Paris Olympics, overcoming Harmanpreet Singh's side 3-1 in a FIH men's Pro League game.
India's star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh was on Tuesday named among the five nominees for the men's Player of the Year honour.
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.
Taking a dig at the controversial run-out decisions that played a big role in her team's last-ball, two-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians coach Charlotte Edwards said it was "really hard" to comprehend such calls that affect the eventual outcome of the match.
The India men's team overcame an early goal to outclass Ireland 3-1 in the FIH Hockey Pro League match.
This is one picture that'll be cherished by posterity.
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.
Jeremy Hayward (11th minute), Nicolas della Torre (35th), Harmanpreet Singh (50th) and Harish Somappa (52nd) scored for Soorma while Thierry Brinkman (5th), Sanjay (30th) and Gursahibjit Singh (50th) were on target for the Lancers.
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As part of the home season, India are scheduled to host West Indies and South Africa and therefore, the members are likely to decide on the venues for the those Test series.
India stuttered in what should have been a comfortable run chase before Harmanpreet took India home with an unbeaten 31 of 32 balls.
Harmanpreet has made only two 50 plus scores since the 2017 World Cup in England where India reached the final.
India T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur launched her preparations for the tour of England.
At one stage, New Zealand and Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Sophie Devine even made a plea for pushing back the boundary limits.
India's Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma have retained their third positions in the latest ICC Women's T20I batter and bowlers' rankings respectively, released on Tuesday.
India's chief coach Craig Fulton lamented that they lacked firepower up front and their mock penalty corner drills failed to deliver as they suffered a 0-2 defeat to world champions Germany
Delhi Capitals head coach Jonathan Batty says maybe the occasion got to the players as his team lost its third straight final in the Women's Premier League.
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur lauded Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh after their match-winning knock
India suffered an embarrassing 0-7 drubbing at the hands of defending champions Australia to settle for a silver medal
India's Harmanpreet Singh was crowned as Men's Player Of The Year and his former compatriot PR Sreejesh was named Men's Goalkeeper Of The Year, announced the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur held her nerves under pressure while opener Jemimah Rodrigues scored an invaluable 33 as Melbourne Renegades beat hosts Hobart Hurricanes by six wickets in a Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) match in Hobart on Saturday.
Harmanpreet's penalty corners and Akashdeep's strike helped India down their arch-rivals.
Opener Georgia Voll (101) and Ellyse Perry (105) smashed commanding centuries as Australia secured a series-clinching 122-run win over India in the second women's ODI.
Kaur is the only Indian to feature in the best XI of WBBL despite some quality performances by the likes of Smriti Mandhana, who became the first from the country to hit a century in the league with a record-equalling 114 not out.
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.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur says her team committed "no crime" after completing a first-ever whitewash in women's ODIs on English soil with a legal yet debatable run-out.
Olympic bronze-medallists India wasted chances galore to lose 0-2 to world champions Germany in the first hockey Test of the two-match series in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians head coach Charlotte Edwards said the early wickets of Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning and opener Shafali Verma helped her team win the Women's Premier League final in Mumbai on Saturday.
Sania Mirza, the tennis icon, made a dazzling entry at the fifth Indian Sports Honours event, donning a stunning floral blazer suit.
Harmanpreet Kaur joined the Punjab police as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in Chandigarh, on Thursday.
