For India, the battle is no longer about proving skill or form, but about crossing the elusive final hurdle that has so often tripped them -- including in this very tournament.
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.
India were served well by their top order batters with each of them hitting their stride to make significant contributions, even as the middle order players did not get going.
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.
Sydney Sixers on Monday confirmed the signing of Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav for the upcoming Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).
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 India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup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 coach Amol Muzumdar credited the landmark achievement of clinching a first-ever women's T20I series win over England to the Women's Premier League, saying it has played an "integral part" in the progress of the players.
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.
Harmanpreet, Shafali move up to tied 11th, Mandhana maintains 5th position
Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Jemimah hold key to India's T20 World Cup campaign
Jemimah Rodrigues played the innings of her life, slamming a century for the ages as India pulled off a record chase to storm into the Women's World Cup final after a five-wicket victory over defending champions Australia in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.
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.
Jharkhand's ruling JMM announced it would not contest the Bihar assembly elections, citing a "political conspiracy" by allies RJD and Congress. The party will review its alliance in Jharkhand with the Congress and RJD.
For spin great Neetu David it was a culmination of a lifelong dream -- to see the India women's team finally end their wait for a World title.
The Women's Asia Cup is set for a blockbuster start when defending champions India take on arch-foes Pakistan in Dambulla on Friday.
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.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will be playing an ODI World Cup final for the third time, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017 to Australia and England, respectively. This will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the final.
Debutant left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma (5/5) recorded the best-ever figures in the ICC Under-19 Women's World Cup, including a hat-trick, to lead India to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Malaysia.
India will have to regroup quickly and iron out the imbalances in team combination when they face arch-rivals Pakistan in a crucial second group A match of the Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday
Harmanpreet has moved up three places and now has 613 rating points while Shafali rose two rungs
Harmanpreet Kaur was on Thursday retained as India captain for the three Women's ODIs against New Zealand while the selectors also picked four uncapped players for the series starting October 24.
Shafali Verma managed just 108 runs in six matches this year with 33 being the highest.
Radha Yadav hailed the impact of bowling coach Narendra Hirwani after registering her career-best figures in India's seven-wicket ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 victory over Sri Lanka.
Gujarat Giants, on the other hand, have been heavily reliant on Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, who has been their standout performer.
In fact, Bangladesh hardly recovered from the deep wounds inflicted by Renuka in the first six overs.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be determined to give their home fans a parting victory when they take on a fatigued Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru on Saturday, before the Women's Premier League moves to Lucknow for its third leg.
The ace spinner is the eighth Indian cricketer to join Australia's women's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition after being roped in by Brisbane Heat for the upcoming season.
ndia will not get a better opponent than New Zealand, which is not a fancied side like its Trans-Tasman neighbour. But the two-time runners-up are as tough as nails.
With two games being completely washed out, the series was extended from five to six matches and India needed to win on the day to seal the series.
The Australia series exposed India's frailties in the bowling department and the team has a lot of work to do before the ICC event.
Her entire cricketing journey flashed before former spinner Neetu David's eyes when she became only the second Indian woman to be inducted into the ICC's Hall of Fame.
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.
ED officials said that Subhash was produced before a special PMLA court on Sunday morning and was sent to judicial custody.
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.
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.
Richa Ghosh (54) equalled the world record for the fastest fifty in women's T20Is (18 balls) after Smriti Mandhana's (77) fireworks as India registered 217 for 4 in the series-deciding third and final match against the West Indies here on Thursday.
Indian batters were skittled out for 85 in 15 overs.
Smriti Mandhana showered praise on skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and said that the 35-year-old is fierce and always gives her best.
Veteran pacer Shikha Pandey axed, rookie keeper Shwetha gets maiden call-up.
Jemimah Rodrigues and Poonam Yadav produced special performances to fire India to a 13-run win over Sri Lanka in the first T20 International of the five-match series, in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday.
