RCB's spirited women's team has managed to achieve what their men's team could not do over 16 years.
Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu smashed a quick-fire half-century as two-time champions Supernovas reached their third successive final with a narrow two-run win over Trailblazers in a last-ball finish at the Women's T20 Challenge, in Sharjah, on Saturday.
Wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy smashed her way to a brilliant 133 off 115 balls with the Southern Stars piling up a massive 332 for 7.
Anuja Patil produced a cameo with the bat to lift the team to 130 and then took three wickets to guide India Women to a 34-run win over Sri Lanka Women in the first Twenty20 International on Monday. With this victory, India Women have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 series. Opting to bat, India Women posted 130 for six and then managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 96 for seven in 20 overs. Indian eves did not have an ideal start as they lost skipper Mithali Raj (3) and V R Vanitha (12) early to be reeling at 15 for 2 in four overs. But responsible batting by Smriti Mandhana (35) and Harmanpreet Kaur (36) put India back on track. Anuja provided the final flourish after coming in to bat at No.6. She hit three fours during her 22 that came off 17 balls. Left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka. She accounted for the top three and ended with figures of three for 28. Chasing a modest target, Sri Lanka lost opener Yasoda Mendis for eight with Anuja striking in the very first over. In her second over, Anuja returned to dismiss the other opener Chamari Atapattu for a duck to reduce the visitors to 13 for two.
Shefali joins the trio of T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (Sydney Thunder), opener Smriti Mandhana (Brisbane Heat) and all-rounder Veda Krishnamurthy (Hobart Hurricanes), which has featured in the WBBL.
Team-wise list of players during WPL auction
The three-match T20I series thus ended 2-1 in favour of India, who stuttered after opting to bat before skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's resilient 39 not out (33b; 3x4, 1x6) propped up their total to 138 for five.
An inspired India stunned world champions Australia by 16 runs to start their Super Six campaign in style at the ICC Women's World Cup cricket tournament in Sydney on Saturday. India posted a respectable 234 for five in the allotted 50 overs before restricting the Aussies for 219 for seven.
Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur will lead two teams in the one-off Women's T20 Challenge on May 22 ahead of the Indian Premier League's Qualifier 1 match in Mumbai.
'Few unfortunate run outs ... but it teaches you that failure is not failure, it's actually a learning. We will take a lot of learning from this and we promised we are going to work hard.'
'What is the use of conducting an inquiry?' 'The BCCI will ask them about leaving out Mithali, but they can get away saying it was the team management's decision.' 'I can tell you nothing will come out of this,' former Indian women's team coach Tushar Arothe tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian.
Australia goes into the ICC women's T20 World Cup summit clash as favourites, but with India having stunned them on the opening night in Sydney, we could be in for the most electric final yet.
Jadeja most tested Indian cricketer so far in 2023, 58 samples collected in first 5 months
The five teams -- Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, RCB, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz -- will be bidding for 90 players in a list of 409.
Indian women's cricket team will be eager to pile further misery on South Africa
The year 2023 will go down as extremely memorable for the Indian sports fraternity as players across various disciplines came together to script history at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou.
A United States court has sentenced an Indian-American couple to prison for coercing their relative to work at their gas station and convenience store for over three years by bringing him to the United States on the pretext of helping enrol him in a school.
India will face their biggest challenge so far in the ICC Women's World T20 when they lock horns with a gifted Australian team in an inconsequential game, in Guyana, on Saturday.
'Our goal is to win the next World Cup and we will surely win it'
Chasing a stiff target, the formidable Australian opening pair of skipper Alyssa Healy and Mooney gave Australia the start it needed, adding 73 runs in just under nine overs.
India were forced to follow on after being dismissed for 231 in the first innings, in the opening session on Day 3, of the one-off women's Test against England in Bristol, on Friday.
The auction will feature 56 capped and 109 uncapped players.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India nominated prolific run scorer Cheteshwar Pujara for the prestigious Arjuna award, acknowledging his stupendous show during the last Test season for India.
'Another change of coach will effect our growth and we will have to start from the scratch. And whatever may be the reason for Ramesh Sir's and Mithali Raj's conflicts, they should solve it across the table like a family and call it truce. This will provide more sense and security to them and the entire team'
Richa Ghosh (1) and Harmanpreet, the two other big-hitters apart from Shafali, were also dismissed while going for big hits and almost all the Australian bowlers reduced the pace on their deliveries to make it difficult for strokeplay.
Images of the Women's T20 World Cup match played between India and England in Gqeberha, South Africa on Saturday
India produced a clinical performance to thrash Bangladesh by 72 runs in the opening league fixture of the ICC Women's World T20, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
A look at how India's athletes fared on Day 4, Tuesday, July 30, 2024:
The 22-year-old played a crucial role in India's semi-final appearance at the ICC Women's World T20 in the West Indies, scoring 178 runs in five matches at a strike-rate of 125.35.
'...The talk before the tournament was 'we have set the standard and we want to raise that further.'
Sajana stamped her mark in her WPL debut itself, smoking off-spinner Alice Capsey for that match-winning six over long-on.
The future of stalwarts Mithali and Jhulan Goswami have been a subject of debate
The Indian women's cricket team produced a superb all-round performance to chase down a record total and upstage World champions Australia by five wickets in the opening Twenty20 International in Adelaide, on Tuesday.
Jemimah Rodrigues's vital knock on return to secure a convincing 34-run victory
Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver's aggressive unbeaten fifties beat India Women by eight wickets
The hosts cannot afford to take England lightly, as the visiting team boasts of some of the big names in women's cricket.
India tie third ODI with Bangladesh, series ends in draw
WPL witnessed special performances from some of the best cricketers in the world
The Mumbai batter is the third-highest-ranked Indian after Smriti Mandhana (third) and Shafali Verma (seventh), while captain Harmanpreet Kaur is next, moving to 13th position after gaining two places.
India Women succumbed to their sixth consecutive defeat and eighth in a row at home
