Close to half of women soccer fans in England and Wales have personally experienced sexist or misogynistic abuse at matches but most have never reported it to authorities, a new study by anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out revealed on Wednesday.
IMAGES from the WPL match between UP Warriorz and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) played in Lucknow on Saturday
IPL is the world's richest T20 tournament with an estimated brand value of $8.4 billion.
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 India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup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.
Rodri won the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world, beating Brazil's Vinicius Jr and England's Jude Bellingham.
Hampshire became the first county championship club to be owned by an overseas franchise.
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.
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.
Starc, who won the IPL last year with Kolkata Knight Riders, said having lack of information was also among the reasons he chose not to go back to India.
Keeping in mind the recent spate of injuries among Indian cricketers, the BCCI has decided to ask its state units to appoint their own strength and conditioning coaches.
Smriti Mandhana smashed a blistering 47-ball 81 to power reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a resounding eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals
Former India captain Mithali Raj has been roped in as mentor and advisor by Women's Premier League side Gujarat Giants.
Australia believe they can win from any situation, that mindset can't be taught: Sthalekar on India losing knock out games
Rohit Sharma's poor run of form has not allowed Mumbai Indians to set the tone in the Indian Premier League ((IPL) so far, believes former Indian women's captain Anjum Chopra.
Becomes first player to pick a hat-trick in the Women's Premier League.
UP Warriorz, facing elimination in the Women's Premier League, will aim to spoil Royal Challengers Bangalore's playoff hopes in a crucial encounter on Saturday.
Perry (57, 34b, 6x4, 2x6) and Ghosh (64 not out, 27b, 7x4, 4x6) were in sublime touch as defending champions RCB scaled down the target of 202 with ease in the tournament opener.
City's Khadija Shaw was named Women's Player of the Year, with Grace Clinton picking up the Young Player of the Year after excelling on loan at Tottenham Hotspur from Manchester United.
KKR named Sri Lankan Dushmantha Chameera as a replacement for England pacer Gus Atkinson for IPL 2024.
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.
The pinnacle of her innings occurred in the penultimate ball of the 19th over when she sent Deepti Sharma's delivery soaring over the long-on boundary, an 80-metre six that thrilled the fans and shattered a car window.
Shabnim Ismail bowls fastest delivery in women's cricket, breaches 130kph
Gujarat Giants recorded a comfortable 19-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore to log their first points after four defeats.
The Royal Challenger's Bengaluru parade in celebration of the team's maiden Indian Premiere League win in 18 years turned into tragedy as at least 11 fans died and several were injured in a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
Ahead of the inaugural season of the Women's Premier League, Delhi Capitals named Meg Lanning as skipper and Jemimah Rodrigues as vice-captain.
Mumbai Indians came up with a dominant performance with both bat and ball to cruise to an emphatic seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.
As India women cricketer set foot into hitherto uncharted territory, it would be fair to say the auction has gone way beyond expectation for several of them if one compares it with the IPL.
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.
IMAGES from the Women's Premier League game in Bengaluru between Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz on Wednesday
Ahead of their tournament opener of the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League, Delhi Capitals' Poonam Yadav and Taniyaa Bhatia opened up about the doors the WPL opens up.
Three Indians, including cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur, were named by TIME magazine as the top 100 emerging leaders shaping the world.
All-rounder Dottin, who is currently in India with the West Indies team for the white-ball series, was the costliest among overseas players and was bought by the Giants for the second time in the auction.
Taking a dig at the controversial run-out decisions that played a big role in her team's last-ball, two-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians coach Charlotte Edwards said it was "really hard" to comprehend such calls that affect the eventual outcome of the match.
Verma's team is currently top of the table with two wins from three matches.
Even though Mahendra Singh Dhoni has retired, a large number of young fans could be seen wearing his iconic No. 7 jersey.
Bala Devi is hoping for an Indian Super League-style women's league in the near future.
IMAGES from the Women's Premier League match played between Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday
Vrinda scripted history by becoming the first uncapped player to command a staggering bid of Rs 1.3 crore
Australia's Big Bash League boosts player payments amid T20 talent war
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