After opting to bat, India were reduced to 114/6 at one point, but Pooja Vastrakar (67) and Sneh Rana (53) put on a 122-run stand to lift India.
India inflicted a crushing 10-wicket defeat on South Africa in the one-off Women's Test in Chennai
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.
A player in A category gets paid Rs 50 lakh over and above match fees and Rs 30 lakh and Rs 10 lakh are allotted for B and C category respectively.
India, having secured two convincing victories, will be looking to complete a clean sweep of the women's ODI series against Ireland in the third and final match. The Indian team is brimming with confidence after a series of impressive batting performances, particularly from Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana, who have formed a formidable opening partnership. Despite their strong batting, India's bowling has shown some vulnerabilities, allowing Ireland to score a respectable 254/7 in the previous match. The absence of key players like Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur has given opportunities for emerging players to shine. The series has highlighted the impressive performance of Pratika Rawal, who has made the most of her chances. The Irish team has been led by the strong performances of Gaby Lewis, Christina Coulter-Reilly, and Leah Paul, but their fielding has been a concern. The match is scheduled to begin at 11 am in Rajkot.
Amanjot Kaur, who was sidelined by a back stress fracture requiring surgery and a ligament tear in her hand after last year's WPL, claimed three wickets for 22 runs before blasting a 27-ball 34 to help MI chase down RCB's 167 with one ball to spare in the WPL match in Bengaluru on Friday.
Smriti Mandhana showered praise on skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and said that the 35-year-old is fierce and always gives her best.
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.
Mandhana, the best batter in the side, has failed to get going thus far on the slow wickets of the UAE where stroke making has proved to be extremely tough.
Ellyse Perry claimed a record six-wicket haul before smashing an unbeaten 40 to steer Royal Challengers Bangalore to an emphatic seven-wicket win.
Titas Sadhu named in India squad for Asian Games, Richa Ghosh returns
India's women's T20 team captain Harmanpreet Kaur says Richa Ghosh and Puja Vastrakar's performance is a big positive for India from the multi-format series, which they lost 5-11 to a dominant Australia.
Pacer Pooja Vastrakar ran riot with a career-best bowling show of 4 for 13 before Smriti Mandhana shone with the bat, scoring an unbeaten half century, as India thrashed South Africa by 10 wickets in the third and final women's T20 International to level the series 1-1, in Chennai, on Tuesday.
The Indian women's cricket team will look for stability from its top-order as it sets out to seal the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in the second game in Pallekele on Monday.
India women registered the biggest victory in terms of runs in the history of women's Test cricket.
The likes of Monica Patel, C Prathyusha have been dropped from the squad altogether.
Wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia, who has an unimpressive strike rate of under 100 in the T20 format, was on Monday named in the Indian women's squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Radha Yadav (3/24) ran through Bangladesh's top-order after Richa Ghosh's quickfire unbeaten 28 off 17 balls, setting up India's 21-run win
Richa Ghosh's brisk 34 saved India Women the blushes as they posted 147 for six against Australia in their series-deciding third and final T20I in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
India dictated terms to mighty Australia who did everything they could to survive the difficult overs under lights and finish the third day of the rain-marred pink ball Test at 143 for four on Saturday.
Harmanpreet Kaur was on Wednesday named India women's team captain for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka on a day when her ODI predecessor Mithali Raj announced her international retirement.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur's form with the bat will be in focus as the Indian Women's team looks to salvage pride in the third and final ODI in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Even though the score is below-par against Southern Stars, Vastrakar's clean hits at least gave them something to fight for.
Chasing a challenging 150-run target, Mandhana smashed 52 off 49 balls and shared 57 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues (23 off 26) for the second wicket to set the platform before India lost four wickets in the span of 10 runs and succumbed easily.
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.
The women's team will take on England in a one-off Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is
India along with New Zealand and Pakistan are in contention for the last remaining semi-final spot from Group A.
Pooja Vastrakar bowled a sharp and incisive spell to take the Indian women's cricket team to its maiden Asian Games final, crushing Bangladesh by eight wickets in a lopsided semi-final.
The hosts had to chase 125 in 14 overs under the DLS method to secure their first win of the series.
Indian women's team put up a highly commendable performance, dominating Australia for the better part in its maiden Day/Night Test, which ended in a draw primarily due to inclement weather during the first two days.
Veteran pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami made a comeback in the India women's ODI squad for the tour of England, while hard-hitting Women's T20 Challenge sensation Kiran Navgire earned her maiden India call-up in the shortest format.
Placed in the platinum category, Harmanpreet was retained by the Renegades along with Hayley Matthews of the West Indies.
India vice-captain Mandhana to skip WBBL for second year in row
Following two convincing wins in the Women's T20 World Cup, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women's team will have their task cut out when they take on England at St. George's Park in Gqeberha on Saturday.
India are fretting over the fitness of their skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (shoulder) and Smriti Mandhana (finger) ahead of the opening game.
Smriti Mandhana, Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar scored half-centuries to help India post 244 for 7 in their ICC women's World Cup opener against Pakistan, in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, on Sunday.
Para discus thrower Aneesh Kumar Pillai on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to miss his competition in the Birmingham Games.
India women now lead the five-match series 4-0 after sealing the series in the third game.
Mandhana's sixth ODI century (117, 127 balls , 12x4s, 1x6) formed the fulcrum of India's competitive 265 for eight on a sluggish Chinnaswamy pitch.
The players' auction ahead of the 2024 edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will be held on December 9 in Mumbai, the BCCI announced on Friday.
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