Railways get the green signal to qualify for the Knock-outs

Playing their last match at the Group stage, the defending champions Railways locked horns with Mumbai women at Khandhari Stadium, Rajkot. Mithali Raj led Railways team are the favourites, with Mumbai camp putting in their heart and soul to qualify for the knockouts.

Early in the day, Raj won the toss and elected to bat first. A new opening pair took the field for Railways. Anagha Deshpande replaced Poonam Raut for today's game. She would have liked to spend some time in the middle, but Mumbai's premium pace bowler Manali Dakshini sent her back in the very first over. Mithali Raj came in to bat sooner than expected. Thirushkamini along with her captain played beautifully and stitched a comprehensive partnership of 160 runs. In the 40th over, Railways lost Raj, who was clean bowled by Mumbai medium pace bowler Sheral Rozario. It was like a dream come true for Sheral who disturbed the timber and got the better off Mithali. A splendid innings decked up with 11 boundaries and 2 sixes came to an end, when Sheral disturbed Thirushkamini's stumps. After creating a strong foundation, the upcoming Railways batswomen failed to capitalise on the start provided by Thirushkamini (96) and Mithali (63). Railways completed their innings with 208 runs on board, losing 8 wickets. The 13-year old child prodigy Fatima Jaffer continued her golden stint with the ball picking up 3 crucial wickets. Sheral Rozario (2-40) and Humaira Kazi (2-35) were the other wicket takers for Mumbai.

Chasing 209 against the opposition as good as Railways was a Herculean task. The strong bowling attack of Railways was the demon that Mumbai eves had to fight to keep their hopes alive for the knockouts. The onus was on senior players like Sulakshana Naik and Mumbai skipper Sunetra Paranjape to see their team through. Naik's (2) performance disappointed the team and the pressure surmounted in the Mumbai camp. The Railways bowlers kept coming at the Mumbai women and there was no resistance offered by the latter. Apart from Jemimah Rodrigues (45), none of the Mumbai batters looked in shape. Mumbai could just manage 99 runs in their full quota of 50 overs losing 9 wickets. Spinning duo of Ekta Bisht (3-18) and Sneh Rana (3-20) spun the wheel of fortune for Railways by picking up 6 of Mumbai's 9 wickets. Mumbai wickets kept falling at regular intervals giving them no respite. Medium pacer Kavita (1-8) and slow left arm bowler Rajeshwari (2-25) were the other bowlers who contributed with the ball for Railways.he champions

Getting it right four out of four times shows the dominance of Railways in senior women's one day league. Mithali Raj would want her team to go out all guns blazing in the knockouts and retain the championship. The news from the Elite Group A is that the defending champs Railways finish of on the first position with 16 points, followed by Mumbai and Punjab with 8 points each, and Andhra and Odisha are at the bottom of the table with 4 points.

Mumbai's 'khadoos' cricket against Odisha

Mumbai is known for the 'khadoos' cricket they play. This was very much seen in today's game that they played against Odisha at Railway Cricket Ground, Rajkot.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Odisha skipper Madhusmita Behera wanted to post a formidable total for Mumbai women's team to chase. However, the Mumbai bowlers had some other plans. Continuing from where she had left in the previous match, Manali Dakshini bowled exceedingly well and had the figures of 10-4-13-4. She is known for giving early breakthroughs to Mumbai and in this match as well, she bundled out the top order within 19 overs. Prakashika Naik (3) and Humaira Kazi (1) contributed with the ball and bowled out Odisha for a paltry sum of 70 runs. Sarita Meher (15) and Swagatika Rath (26) were the only two Odisha batswomen to have scored double-digit runs.

All eyes were on Mumbai, who were confident to chase down this minuscule score put up by the Odisha eves. Though they lost their openers early on in the innings, Mugdha Joshi (22) and skipper Sunetra Paranjape (35*) shouldered the responsibility of taking their team home. The Odisha bowlers had to just complete the formality as there was nothing substantial for them to defend. Ritu Singh, Sujata Malik and Swagatika Rath picked one of Mumbai wickets apiece. With no further hiccups, it was a cake walk for Mumbai women as they chased down the target in 28 overs and won the match by 7 wickets.

It was a comprehensive victory for Mumbai, bagging another 4 points. Mumbai's total score is 8 points, whereas Odisha are at the bottom of the Elite Group A table with 0 points. Both the teams play their next match on 23rd November. Mumbai take on the defending champions Railways and Odisha face Andhra in the last match of the Elite Group A.

Mumbai's magic surprise Andhra women

Playing their second match in the Elite Group A against Andhra eves, Mumbai made just the one change in the playing XI. The inclusion of batswoman Bhakti Tamore in place of bowler Sayali Satghare will add to the depth of Mumbai’s batting. Skipper Sunetra Paranjape must have realized the need to strengthen the batting after their unsuccessful attempt to chase 166 runs against Punjab. Winning the toss, Mumbai elected to bat first at Khandhari Stadium, Rajkot.

Mumbai batters dealt with the new ball well, but lost their opening batswoman Jemimah Rodrigues (13) in the 11th over. Coming in at no. 3 for Mumbai, Mugdha Joshi played a patient knock of 47 runs and was instrumental in taking the Mumbai total score to 194 runs in their full quota of 50 overs. Humaira Kazi (21) and Manali Dakshini (21*) played some cameos at the end of the innings and helped their team post a strong target for Andhra women. Jhansi Lakshmi was the pick of the bowlers for Andhra as she finished with 3/41 in her 9 overs. Bhanava (2), Salma Banu (2) and Chandra Lekha (1) were the other bowlers who struck for Andhra.

Paranjape should be very happy with her team’s batting performance and would hope her bowlers bowl well to defend the target.

Dream start is what every bowler wants to have, and it was Mumbai bowler Manali Dakshini, who provided her team with one. She sent the Andhra openers back to the pavilion in the initial 5 overs of the innings. Her aggressive bowling rewarded her with the early wickets. Andhra captain Meghana went on to play a brilliant innings of 71 hitting nine fours, before she was differe nt by the 13 year old child prodigy Fatima Jaffer. Chandra Lekha (17), Jhansi Lakshmi (21) and Anjali Sarvani (26) contributed with their batting but could not make the final cut. Andhra batswomen tried to get closer to the Mumbai target but ultimately fell short of 25 runs. Apart from Dakshini and Jaffer, Prakashika Naik (2) and Shwetha Haranhalli (1) were among the wickets. Top notch fielding efforts by the Mumbai women accounted for three crucial run outs.

With this win, Mumbai women’s team has opened its account with 4 points, while Andhra are at the bottom of the Elite Group A table with 0 points.

Mithali’s ‘Raj’ continues in women’s senior one day league

After chasing successfully in their two out of two outings, the defending champions Railways chose to do something different in their third fixture against Punjab at Railway Cricket Ground, Rajkot, when the skipper Mithali Raj won the toss and elected to bat first.

Railways openers seemed to give a good start to their team, scoring 42 runs, before Thirushkamini (14) was bowled by Mehak Kesar in the 14th over. Poonam Raut and captain Raj were playing well, before Mehak struck again. She got rid of Poonam Raut (29) in the 22nd over of the game. India vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur walked in to bat at no. 4 to give company to her captain. Sunita Rani got the better off Mithali and suddenly the Railways had lost its top order for 85 runs on board. Harmanpreet (21), Veda (45) and Niranjana (43*) played exceedingly well to take the score to 199 runs. Though there was not much for the Punjab bowlers, Mehak Kesar was the best bowler with 2/47 in her full quota of 10 overs.

Chasing 199 against the defending champions Railways was always going to be a daunting task. The Punjab batting line up collapsed like a pack of cards and within a matter of 24 overs, the scoreboard read 7/44. It was a batting debacle as none of the Punjab batswoman could get the runs. Rewa Arora (22) was the lone fighter in the battle, before Sneh Rana got her out caught and bowled in the 26th over. After the initial breakthroughs provided by Kavita (2) and Niranjana (1), Rajeshwari, Sneh Rana and Ekta Bisht joined the party with two wickets each. The disciplined bowling performance of Railways handed them a massive victory of 154 runs. Railways completely outplayed Punjab in all the three departments and have proved that they are the true champions.

Railways are on a winning spree as they have won three out three matches and are comfortably sitting at the top with valuable 12 points. Punjab women haven’t disturbed the points table and are at stagnant at 4 points.

Railways women on the right track

The defending champions Railways faced Andhra women in their second fixture in Elite Group A match today. The match was played at Railway Cricket Ground, Rajkot. Andhra captain S Meghana won the toss and elected to bat first. Railways skipper Mithali Raj would not mind fielding first as they have successfully chased in their previous outing against Odisha.

Andhra had a disappointing start when they lost their opener Sneha Deepthi in the 4th over. Kavita took over from where she had left in the previous match and provided an early breakthrough for Railways. Andhra skipper came in at no. 3 and tried to steady the innings with Anusha, before Kavita got the skipper run out for 14 runs. After the initial overs from pacers, Raj asked Ekta Bisht to roll her arm over. Bisht did not waste any time in trapping Anusha LBW and sent her back to the pavilion. Railways seemed to be in a commanding position when they had the Andhra top order back in the hut. Middle order batswomen Chandra Lekha and Kalpana stitched a much needed partnership of 52 runs. They tested the patience of Railways women as they battled it out for 16 overs. Once both these batswoman exited, Andhra innings fell like a pack of cards and were bundled out for 132 runs. Ekta Bisht was the pick of the bowlers claiming 3/15.

Once again Railways failed to start their innings on a positive note. Opening batswoman Thirushkamini was out LBW in the 7th over by Jhansi Lakshmi for a paltry sum of 6 runs. Mithali Raj came in to bat at no. 3 and played a captain’s knock. She remained unbeaten on 72 hitting 9 boundaries. She got a good support from the other end as well. Poonam Raut (34) and Harmanpreet Kaur(22*) contributed to Railways 8-wicket victory over Andhra women. The strong batting line up of Railways made the Andhra bowlers look ordinary. Jhansi Lakshmi and Dhathri managed to pick up one wicket apiece.

Railways have got it right two out of two times and are comfortably sitting at the top of the Elite Group A table with 8 points. Andhra women are yet to open their account.

Railways women cruise to their first victory against Odisha

The defending champions Railways took on Odisha in the Elite Group A match at Khandhari Stadium, Rajkot. Railways skipper Mithali Raj won the toss and chose to field first. The Railways bowlers proved their captain's decision right when they ran through Odisha batting line up and got them all out for a paltry 87 runs. Left arm spinner Ekta Bisht had an envious bowling statistics of 7 overs, 4 maidens, 5 runs for 4 wickets. Undoubtedly she was the pick of the bowlers duly supported by Kavita and Niranjana who picked up 3 wickets and 2 wickets respectively.

Chasing 88 runs off 50 overs seemed to be like a cake walk for Railways, who have the likes of India players namely Poonam Raut, Thirushkamini, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, to name a few. Railways suffered an early blow when Raut got out for just 4 runs. However with the skipper coming in at no. 3 Railways were hopeful to have an easy run chase. Thirushkamini and Raj stitched a tidy partnership of 83 runs to take the defending champions home.

Railways opened their account with 4 points, with Odisha stranded at 0 points.

Punjab women get the better off Mumbai women

The inter-state women's cricket tournament kick started today at Rajkot, where Twenty-six teams across the country are playing for two national titles, one in the Elite division and the other in the Plate division.

Mumbai took on Punjab at the Railways Cricket Ground, Rajkot. Leading from the front was Mumbai skipper Sunetra Paranjape, whose return to the Mumbai squad has been a great plus for the team. Early in the morning, Mumbai won the toss and chose to field. This decision didn't seem to go right for Mumbai as the Punjab openers Rewa Arora and Jasia Akhter stitched a 59-run opening partnership. Paranjape rotated the bowlers, who were well supported by the fielders. Mumbai struck for the first time only in the 21st over when off-spinner Humaira Kazi disturbed the timber of Rewa Arora. Jasia and Parveen then steadied the ship of Punjab innings giving Mumbai no chance to have another breakthrough till the 35th over. Mumbai bowlers maintained a disciplined line and length, with the 13 year old child prodigy Fatima Jaffer picking up 2 wickets and Humaira Kazi having 3 Punjab scalps. Punjab went on to score 165 runs from their full quota of 50 overs losing 9 wickets. Jasia Akhter was the pick of the batswomen scoring 80 runs off 120 balls.

On their way of chasing the target of 166 runs, Mumbai lost the wicket-keeper opener Sulakshana Naik for just 4 runs, putting some pressure on the Mumbai middle order. The absence of big names in Mumbai's batting line up may be the reason for their collapse in the middle overs. Mumbai batters like Mugdha Joshi, Sunetra Paranjape, Humaira Kazi, Manali Dakshini, all got to a decent start, but failed to capitalise. Opening batswoman Jemimah Rodrigues was the top scorer for Mumbai with a patient and cautious knock of 37 runs off 91 deliveries. Not getting the required support from the other end, Jemimah's innings ended in the 32nd over when Mumbai had another 79 runs to get. The Punjab women bowled well, but it was their fielding that won them the game. There were 4 run outs in Mumbai innings which shows the exemplary fielding performance of the young Punjab team. Mehek Kesar, Sunita Rani and Bharti Bawa were among wickets accounting for 3, 2 and 1 victims respectively. Mumbai's innings closed in the 48th over, when the final batter Fatima Jaffer bit the dust, handing Punjab a 35-run victory.

Punjab team secured 4 points leaving Mumbai behind with 0 points.

Can we have women’s IPL in India?

India is always considered as one of the greatest Cricket playing nations in the world, as the game is played quite extensively all over the country. Though the game is mainly played by men in India, the Indian women are also playing the game for quite some time now. The Women's Cricket in India started its journey several years back, during the first half of the 1970s. Since then women’s cricket have been recognized as one of the popular sports for women in India.

If you look back in time, you will know that the first cricket World Cup was played by women in 1973 which was followed a couple of years later by the men’s cricket World Cup in 1975. Not only the World Cups, but women in the cricket playing nations play Test, ODI and T20 just like their male counterparts.

The advent of IPL (Indian Premiere League) in 2008 in India set the wheels of cricket popularity rolling not only in India but all over the world. Big cricketing guns from different parts of the globe descend to this cricket crazy nation for close to two months to play this all exciting tournament. IPL not only acts as a platform for the young and budding cricketers to showcase their talent in front of the world but also gives all the cricket lovers to see their favourite players in one team. Is there anything that you will ask for when you have the likes of ViratKohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers playing together in one team named Royal Challengers Bangalore team? It is truly a treat to watch these players play together in one team. It is also interesting to see when you have your favourite players at loggerheads, say MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.

If men’s IPL could create such a buzz, don’t you think that even their female counterparts must be raring to play such a competition? Australia has already taken the first step towards this. Every year in Australia the Big Bash League (BBL) is played in which there are eight teams fiercely competing against each other to win the ultimate trophy. The BBL is similar to India’s IPL. After seeing the success of BBL and IPL, former Australia women's Test captain and Head of Brisbane's Centre of Excellence, Belinda Clark revealed on 19 January 2014 the planning for a women's Big Bash League (WBBL). On 19 February 2015, Cricket Australia announced that a Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) would commence in season 2015/2016, with teams aligned to the current men's competition. The teams will share the names and colours of the existing men's BBL teams, meaning that there will be two teams from each of Sydney and Melbourne while one team from each of Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart. For the first time ever, there will be a WBBL being played in Australia. The tournament is scheduled to be held in December 2015. It is a long tournament that will be played from 5th December 2015 and the final will be held on 24th January 2016.

One of the leading Australian players Lisa Sthalekarhas come out of her retirement to play for Sydney Sixers in the inaugural season of WBBL. Sthalekar, 36, retired in 2013 as one of Australia's most accomplished women's players of all time, and as the only Australian to have scored 1000 runs and taken 100 wickets in women's one-day internationals.During her 12-year international career, Sthalekar was part of four Australian World Cup-winning squads as well as two Ashes-winning teams.

WBBL will see not only cricketers but also a tennis player playing the game. Former tennis star Ashleigh Barty has turned her hand to cricket, signing with the Brisbane Heat for the inaugural Women's Big Bash League season this summer. Barty, 19, reached the doubles finals at Wimbledon, the US Open and Australian Open with partner Casey Dellacqua in 2013 and has competed in the singles at all four grand slams, but walked away from tennis last year.Barty approached Queensland Cricket earlier this year to enquire about making a switch to cricket and she has since then joined Western Suburbs in the Brisbane Women's Premier Cricket competition. Last weekend she top scored in her first T20 game with 63 not out from 60 balls, as well as taking 2 for 13 from four overs.Barty has been training alongside the Queensland Fire squad since July, having become interested in a switch to cricket when she addressed the Southern Stars team as part of their winter training programme earlier this year.
It is hoped that the WBBL will cultivate the strong crop of women’s cricket in the national arena. With this backdrop, Australia has taken already taken this redefining step to develop women’s cricket, now it’s time for India, where cricket is considered as a religion to give a long rope to the women cricketers and popularize it as much as the men’s cricket. What say BCCI?Even Indian players like Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami are eyeing to have something like women’s IPL.

Thank you Seh’waah’g

If you ask yourself, who made Indian Test cricket look interesting, there will be hardly any doubt, that the answer would be Virender Sehwag or just Viru as all the cricket lovers around the world like to call him as. The swashbuckling opener from Delhi made the batting look as easy as a cake walk. Scoring over eight and a half thousand runs in 104 Test matches at an average of close to 50 and an attacking strike rate of over 80, is nothing less than an applauding task. If you were lost in the stats, I will quickly remind you that we are discussing about Viru’s Test record. Add to this, his blitzkrieg innings of 309 against Pakistan in Multan and 319 against the Proteas in Chennai, he is a proven run machine who can strike at his free will.

Usually any batsman who is reaching close to a century is affected by what they say in cricketing language, ‘nerves’. This man is alien to such a disorder. Sehwag is known to hit a six when he is comfortably on 95 runs or 195 runs to reach the milestone. He is truly one of the fearless cricketers that the game of cricket has ever produced.

Be it a Test match or an ODI match, Sehwag will come into bat with the same mindset. Stand and deliver. His ODI record speaks volumes of his extraordinarily aggressive style of batting. Having featured in 251 ODIs and scoring runs at more than run a ball, is a testimony to all those who rely solely on their hand-eye co-ordination for their batting. Sehwag had the honour of being the highest scorer for India with 219 runs in a one day match just before Rohit Sharma’s scintillating innings of 264 against Sri Lanka. These numbers not only speak about the monumental achievements of Sehwag but also prove the kind of value that he has added to the game of cricket. Did the Nawab of Najafgarh ever think to be associated with the league of legendary Indian batsman which consisted of the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, the ‘Wall’ Rahul Dravid, the best ever leg glancer VVS Laxman and our ‘Dada’ Sourav Ganguly? Sehwag along with these four strong men together form the famous ‘Fab5’ of Indian cricket.

Sehwag has hung his boots and will no longer play international cricket. After 0.1 overs, India 4 for no loss in a World Cup match will remain a history. Sehwag played a pivotal role in India’s success during the World Cup of 2011. After 28 years, India could clinch the World Cup, and you cannot deny the role of openers (Sehwag and Tendulkar) in this remarkable feat.

Being an opening batsman he never shied away from bowling his occasional off spins. To his name he has 96 ODI wickets and 40 Test wickets. Simply if we combine his splendid batting statistics and decent bowling records, we can fathom the magnitude of his contribution to the Indian cricket. Not only in India, but all over the world Sehwag’s bating cannot be left unappreciated. In the year 2005, Viru was named as the ICC Test player of the year. He was also awarded with the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the world for two consecutive years: 2008 and 2009.

It is said that ‘behind every successful man there is a woman’, looking at Sehwag, I am tempted to change this adage; ‘behind every successful opener there is his opening partner’. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag not only played together for Delhi but also shouldered the responsibility of opening the batting for India. Their cheeky singles and attacking stroke play have always been a treat to watch. Together they have stitched umpteen partnerships, scored tons of runs and always created a strong base for the Indian batting order. Now we only hope to have another similar kind of Gambhir-Sehwag duo for years to come.
Sehwag the swashbuckler, Sehwag the gentleman, and the cool as cucumber Sehwag will be genuinely missed by his millions of fans spread all across the globe. Sehwag has not only given Indian Test cricket a boost and a result oriented mindset but also flamboyance and ‘let my bat do the talking’ attitude. He is truly one of the wonderful brand ambassadors of the game. Hail Viru!

‘D’ Magic

South African blitzkrieg at Wankhede made the mockery of the Indian bowling attack here on Sunday. What could just save merely the Indians from being at the receiving end of this annihilation was the intense humidity of Mumbai. The Proteas top order came into bat with all guns blazing thrashing the bleak Indian attack all around the park. The 22 year old Quinton De Kock simply loves batting against India which is quite evident from the fact that out of the nine games that he has played against the same opposition, he has scored five centuries. It seems that this wicketkeeper-batsman simply relishes batting against the India. De Kock scored 109 runs giving a perfect start to SA in this decider match. The series being evenly poised at 2-2, AB De Villiers wouldn’t have asked for a better start having won the toss and elected to bat first.

Though the Proteas lost Hashim Amla (23) cheaply, there was no looking back, as Faf Du Plessis was brutally hitting the Indian bowlers. The spectators could not take their eyes of the game as both De Kock and Du Plessis were finding the odd boundaries and sixes at regular intervals. After scoring a valiant 133, Du Plessis succumbed to the scorching heat and tremendous humidity of Mumbai, having returned to the pavilion as retired hurt.

The SA dressing room applauded the magnificent efforts of Du Plessis and hoped to see their skipper carry on the mantle from there. It is one in a million times that AB De Villiers disappoints the crowd and his team. Sunday evening belonged to De Villiers as he did not put a single foot wrong. Known to be one of the crafty batsmen in international cricket, ABD not only played with a straight bat but also showed his talent by playing some innovative shots. Having smacked the ball over the fence for 11 times in his innings of 119, De Villiers created yet another record of being the only captain to hit over 10 sixes in an innings twice.

The ‘D’ magic was a nightmare for the Indian bowlers. The Wankhede wicket which is essentially known to be spin-friendly offered no help to the spin trio of Axar Patel, Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh. Among them they bowled 28 overs conceding a mammoth sum of 213 runs and picking up just a single wicket. Though Amit Mishra created a few chances, the Indian fielders had butter fingers which didn’t help them to hold on to their catches.

All in all the Sunday final was the Proteas game equaling their highest total of 438 runs. They had registered the same total in their own backyard against the might Aussies as well. The Proteas batted, bowled and fielded well and deserved to win their first ever bilateral series against India.

Welcome boundary for Indian women’s cricket team

After nine years of struggle, the Indian women cricketers finally heave a sigh of relief. The Women’s Cricket Association of India merged with the BCCI in 2006 and since then all eyes have been on the BCCI to give a fillip to women’s cricket in India.

The BCCI have finally made the decision of providing central contracts to the women cricketers. Just like their male counterparts, the female cricketers are subject to the Grade system. Out of the 11 India players, four of them fall in Grade A while the remaining seven are in Grade B. Grade A players like skipper Mithali Raj, vice captain Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s premium pace bowler Jhulan Goswami and India’s opening batswoman Thirushkamini are all in Grade A. They are entitled to receive a handsome sum of 15 lakhs rupees for the season 2015-16. Mumbai’s Poonam Raut, southpaw Smriti Mandana, spinner Rajeswari Gayakwad, leg spinner Poonam Yadav, left arm spinner Ekta Bist, leg break bowler Veda Krishnamurthy, medium pace bowler Niranjana Nagarajan are the Grade B players. A contract of 10 lakhs rupees is given to them. This is an encouraging step taken by the BCCI for the growth and development of women’s cricket in India. This move will definitely motivate more and more girls to take up cricket as a career.

The BCCI has certainly applied some fairness cream to whiten the women’s cricket in the country.