Dinesh Karthik may have spent his career in M S Dhoni's shadow, but his contributions to Indian cricket, especially in the IPL, deserve a legacy all his own, asserts Sudhir Bisht.
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 India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup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.
From damsels versus dragons to showbiz shenanigans, ready to catch all the action on OTT this week?
'I have always looked at people and said, 'You just have to accept. You just have to love. You just have to let this person be and the trouble would be less.' 'But we keep complicating things, and that is the tragedy -- our desire not to understand.'
'They haven't done a lot wrong. That's without some of their stars actually performing in that final.'
How exciting is the Apple Watch Series 5? Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com finds out.
'Had anyone asked me if I was Aamir Khan, I would have admitted to it.' Senior movie journalist Roshmila Bhattacharya flips through the pages of her many interactions with Aamir Khan, who turned 60 on March 14.
The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is likely to see bowlers playing a crucial role in the success of teams.
The 18 year old from an impoverished family in Chennai won the Carrom World Cup, but the title has not changed either her or her father, an autorickshaw driver.
Mahindra is coming up with the Thar Roxx. MG Motor India announced a third electric vehicle Windsor. Hyundai and Kia are expected to introduce updated versions of the Alcazar and Carnival respectively.
Trump supporters were delighted and delirious; Harris supporters dejected and despondent.
Jasprit Bumrah now holds an exceptional record of 203 Test wickets at an average of 19.42 -- the first bowler ever to achieve 200 wickets at an average under 20 in the longest format.
The Broken News 2 is worth watching because of Jaideep and Shriya's fabulous acting, recommends Namrata Thakker.
On current form, D Gukesh is the favourite to win the World Chess Championship title against his Chinese opponent, Ding Liren, believes Indian teenage Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa.
A summary of Thursday's Europa League quarter-finals second-leg.
Virat Kohli has expressed his full support for Rajat Patidar as the new captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), praising Patidar's consistency and discipline.
'When the girls said they want to play football, the mothers were encouraging.' 'It was the fathers who were against the idea.'
Jay Shah met with top officials of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics organising committee to discuss the sport's potential inclusion in the Summer Games on Thursday.
Pravinkoodu Shappu is a quirky whodunnit with its fair share of laughs, observes Arjun Menon.
Sunrisers had won the title in the inaugural season in 2023 by defeating Pretoria Capitals. They had beaten Durban SuperGiants in the 2024 edition of SA20.
He topped the run-scoring chart in the previous edition of the SA20, which was during the time he started implementing changes in his batting technique after having a conversation with his batting coach at Lions and MI Cape Town, Hashim Amla.
Indian shooter Manu Bhaker is among over 100 athletes who have complained about 'deteriorating' Paris Games medals and are like to get replacements.
Aseem Chhabra rates the movies he's watched in 2023, and tells you where you can watch them!
Former World No 1 doubles shuttler Chirag Shetty termed the exclusion of badminton from the 2026 Commonwealth Games curriculum a wrong decision.
Trump looks like he will be America's next president while yet again the country seems to have rejected a woman candidate...
Kareena's cop, Rajni's supercop and Samantha's spy, it's a star-studded week on OTT this time. Sukanya Verma lists your options on OTT this week.
'International cricket is incomplete without Pakistan.'
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the Indian men's doubles badminton pair, have gained recognition for their speed, power, and height, earning praise from top international opponents.
Tamil Nadu is set to protest against the National Education Policy (NEP) on February 18, with the ruling DMK and its allies announcing a demonstration. The state government has been at odds with the Centre over the implementation of the NEP and the three-language formula proposed in the policy. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan dismissed the state's opposition as "politics" and asserted that the Centre is committed to implementing the NEP across the country. The DMK, however, accused the Centre of encroaching on the state's rights and using the office of the Governor to push the NEP.
Seasoned India pacer Mohammed Shami says attention to detail and loyalty towards his craft makes him lethal in ICC events.
Five singles matches were cancelled as persistent rain washed out a large chunk of play on the opening day of the Australian Open on Sunday, disappointing the large crowds that flocked to Melbourne Park.
Zero Se Restart is a must watch for cinema students, and also, perhaps for the layperson who has never been on a film set, and is curious about what goes into the making of a movie, recommends Deepa Gahlot.
Women's HIL will provide financial stability to junior players and attract youth to hockey: Savita Punia
Smith couldn't hide his emotions while recalling their work in the early days that paved the way for the entry of six IPL franchises in the league.
Deepa Gahlot picks 10 Web series that was worth the viewer's while.
Readers share photographs of their HMT watches and tell us the story behind it.
There's clearly no limit to how dramatic a wedding can be.
In a post on the microblogging platform X, Elon Musk shared his photograph along with former US President Donald Trump.
As Swades turns 20, Aseem Chhabra looks back at the film that spoke to him.
India's economy is likely to grow by 6.5 per cent in the current and the next financial year, an EY report said, attributing lower than anticipated expansion in the September quarter to fall in private consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation. Real GDP growth eased to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent in July-September -- the second quarter of the current 2024-25 fiscal year.
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