"I really felt for Shafali Verma at the end, it was tough seeing her in tears but she should be very proud of the way she's performed in Australia," Brett Lee wrote in his column for the ICC.
Smriti Mandhana struck a sublime half-century as India finally produced a good batting display to record a seven-wicket win over Australia in Melbourne on Saturday, keeping their hopes alive for a place in the final of the women's T20 tri-series. Australia posted 173 for 5 courtesy of a quickfire 57-ball 93 from Ashleigh Gardner and Meg Lanning's 22-ball 37 after India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur elected to field at the Junction Oval.
Australia A bowlers, led by pace-bowling stalwart Kim Garth, wreaked havoc as India A suffered a demoralising 114-run defeat in the second unofficial T20I in Mackay as the hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning and Harmanpreet Kaur were some of the big names retained by their respective franchises for the next edition of the Women's Premier League.
Fine half-centuries by Yastika Bhatia, Radha Yadav and Tanuja Kanwar propelled India A to a thrilling series-clinching two-wicket victory over Australia A, after Alyssa Healy's brilliant knock set the bar high for the visitors, in the second women's one-dayer, in Brisbane, on Friday.
Teenager Shafali Verma scored her second consecutive half-century after off-spinner Deepti Sharma starred with the ball as the Indian women's team registered an emphatic 10-wicket win against West Indies in the second T20 International.
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.
Invited to bat, Shafali, a regular in the India senior team, and Sehrawat, stitched a 111-run stand for the first wicket.
New Zealand sprung a fantastic turnaround to defeat India by three wickets
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.
Jemimah Rodrigues struck a sensational century as hosts India reached the ICC Women's World Cup Final with a magical run-chase against Australia
India's batting faltered at the death as England held their nerves to pull off a narrow five-run win in a thrilling third women's T20 International on Friday.
Images from ICC women's T20 World Cup match between India and Bangladesh, in Perth, on Monday.
Smriti Mandhana smashed a blistering 47-ball 81 to power reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a resounding eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals
Five years ago, a starry-eyed Shafali Verma wrestled through a vociferous crowd at the nondescript Lahli ground in Haryana to get a glimpse of her idol Sachin Tendulkar, the moment that inspired the then 10-year-old to take up the game.
Delhi Capitals dished out an all-round effort to comfortably beat former champions Mumbai Indians by nine wickets
The 15-year-old Shafali, who was dismissed for a four-ball duck on her debut in the opening match, laid the foundation for a good total with a 33-ball innings, while Jemimah Rodrigues (33) provided the stablity, scoring a 22-ball 33.
Shafali Verma blasted 60 runs off 30 balls after left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad's fine bowling to power India to a consolation nine-wicket victory over South Africa in the third and final match of the women's series, in Lucknow, on Tuesday.
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.
Relentless accuracy by the bowlers, led by Radha Yadav, drove India to a comfortable 59-run victory over New Zealand in the first women's ODI in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Shafali wants to make the visit to South Africa even more memorable with another silverware.
Shafali Verma (744 points) had grabbed the top spot at the end of the league stage of the just-concluded women's T20 World Cup in Australia which the hosts won for an unprecedented fifth time.
India batsman Shafali Verma, who had to trim her hair and fight for a chance to play cricket, questioned the discrimination against girls and batted for an equal chance for females in all fields.
Mandhana happy to score a ton in a format that 'is not a natural format for me.'
Shafali met Tendulkar and posted a picture with him on her Twitter handle.
India skipper Mithali Raj has welcomed the selection of teen sensation Shafali Verma in all three formats and said it would be crucial to get back to winning ways on the UK tour after the disappointment at home against South Africa.
Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, unleashed a devastating performance against Sri Lanka in the Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai on Wednesday.
In fact, Bangladesh hardly recovered from the deep wounds inflicted by Renuka in the first six overs.
Smriti Mandhana, who has 738 rating points, is the top-ranked Indian batter in the 50-over format while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur retained her ninth position.
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.
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.
Spinners Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma held their nerves during death overs as India pulled off a nail-biting eight-run victory over Bangladesh
Images from the women's T20 World Cup match between India and New Zealand in Melbourne, on Thursday.
Needing 16 off two overs, Kashvee Gautam struck Shikha Pandey for a six off the last ball to bring down the equation to seven runs in the last over.
Mandhana said each tournament since the last few months has been a step towards preparation for the World T20 scheduled to be held in Bangladesh later this year.
Delhi Capitals will be aiming to claim the top spot, while UP Warriorz will be desperate to register their first victory of the season when the two sides face off in the Women's Premier League in Bengaluru on Saturday.
IMAGES from the WPL match played between Delhi Capitals Women and UP Warriorz in Bengaluru on Monday.
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.
India along with New Zealand and Pakistan are in contention for the last remaining semi-final spot from Group A.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a whopping cash reward of Rs 5 crore for India's women's Under-19 T20 World Cup-winning squad, which defeated England by seven wickets in the final at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on Sunday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances