India vice-captain Mandhana to skip WBBL for second year in row
Harmanpreet, Shafali move up to tied 11th, Mandhana maintains 5th position
'This Indian team is eager to thrive in the challenging conditions and ready to write a glorious chapter in the rich history of Indian cricket, says India captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
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.
Knockout games different than league, South Africa will start afresh against India: Wolvaardt
Jemimah Rodrigues struck a crucial fifty as India secured a comprehensive 20-run victory against West Indies in a warm-up game ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
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.
'We'll sit down and review -- see what went well, where we can improve, and how we can keep learning every day. There'll be a meeting for that. One game won't change our mindset.'
This is India's 2nd win in as many games.
The Ireland women's team has never beaten India in the 12 ODIs they have played against them.
Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal's 212-run stand against New Zealand is India's highest in Women's World Cup history.
Also released from the squad are Devika Vaidya, Simran Shaikh and Shivali Shinde.
Anushka Sharma, Sakshi Singh Dhoni cheered on their better halves from the stands along with other celebrities including IPL legend Chris Gayle.
India's recent run of victories has bolstered confidence but the women's selection panel, headed by Neetu David, will face some tricky questions on the inclusion of Shafali Verma and pacer Renuka Thakur when it meets in Mumbai on Tuesday to pick the squad for the ODI World Cup.
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.
A superb 84-ball 102 from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and a splendid 6-52 from young pacer Kranti Goud helped India Women steer to a sensational 13-run win in the final ODI against England to clinch the three-match series 2-1 at Chester-le-Street, Durham, on Tuesday.
In the post-match press conference, Mithali Raj talked about the positives from two Tests that the team has played this year.
Harmanpreet Kaur's quickfire fifty and Nat Sciver-Brunt's fine all-round showing lifted Mumbai Indians to their second Women's Premier League title.
'I think we have got a very settled batting lineup. Would not like to shuffle it around too much but when the need arises, you know we are flexible about it.'
'Just a couple of Indian No 5s bumping into each other in Manchester'.
Lanning has led DC from the front, scoring 308 runs from eight innings, while South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp and Australian left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen are the highest wicket-takers for the side with 11 scalps each.
England beat India by eight wickets in rain-affected 2nd women''s ODI to level series 1-1
When there was constant criticism, Harman and Smriti kept the team together: Neetu David
India defeated Ireland by six wickets in the first women's ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series in Rajkot on Friday.
India registered a hard-fought six-wicket win over arch rivals Pakistan, keeping their semi-final hopes alive in the Women's T20 World Cup.
Smriti Mandhana's elegant maiden ton leads India to 97-run win over England in 1st T20I
Birthday wishes poured in on social media from the cricketing world for India's young batting star Smriti Mandhana, who turned 24, on Saturday, July 18.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hailed India's ICC Women's World Cup 2025 victory, calling it a historic moment for the nation and praising the team for "bringing the World Cup home."
Earlier, after incessant rain interrupted the exciting contest, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to field against the hosts India.
Smriti Mandhana hit a fluent half-century as India continued to hold the upper-hand against Australia, on Day 2 of the one-off Test.
Women's cricket is no longer a career option, it would be a calling for the millions of girls, whose parents have remained sceptical about their daughters dreaming about wearing India Blues.
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.
Pakistan were bundled out for a below-par 108 after opting to bat first. India then chased down the target with as many as 35 balls to spare.
After being outplayed in the opener, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team roared back with a stunning 102-run victory, which was Australia's heaviest defeat in terms of runs. It was also India's first win over them in 12 matches.
A historic maiden women's T20 series victory over England already assured, India failed to end the series on a high, losing the inconsequential fifth and final match by five wickets in a last-ball thriller, in Birmingham, on Saturday.
India will search for a spark of magic reminiscent of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's legendary knock eight years ago as they take on the mighty Australia in the World Cup semi-final on Thursday.
Shreyanka Patil, Mannat Kashyap, Saika Ishaque and Titas Sadhu were on Monday included for the first time in the Indian women's ODI squad for the upcoming limited overs assignment against Australia.
IMAGES from the WPL opener between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians played in Bengaluru on Friday
India eye maiden women's T20I series win over England; hosts to miss injured skipper Brunt
IMAGES from the first ODI played between New Zealand and India at Napier
