Smriti and Mithali steer India to a 9-wicket win against Proteas

Winning the first T20 with utmost comfort, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side looked invincible in the second of the five T20s that was played at Buffalo Park on Friday. Chasing a modest total of 143, openers Mithali Raj (76 not out) and Smriti Mandhana (52) provided a dream start to the visitors. The opening partnership of 106 runs that came off just 14.2 overs set the tone for the run chase. Raj and Mandhana hit boundaries at will and their running between the wickets ensured that the South African bowlers had to make necessary adjustments with their line and lengths to bowl to the left hand – right hand combination. In the end, India cruised to an easy win by nine wickets and chased down the target with five balls to spare. Mithali Raj was adjudged as the Player of the Match.

Putting the Proteas to bat first, the Indians restricted the hosts to a humble 142-7 in 20 overs. The spin twins in the form of Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav were the pick of the bowlers accounting for two wickets apiece. Sune Luus (33) looked solid but failed to find an able ally to take the home team to a commanding total.

With India leading the five match T20 series 2-0, the Women in Blue will look to wrap up the series when they meet van Niekerk-led South African team in the next fixture on Sunday at Johannesburg. 

Source: Indiatimes.com

India Women beat South Africa in the first T20

A strong batting display by Mithali Raj and co. was instrumental in the win against South Africa in the first of five T20s that was played on Tuesday at Potchefstroom. After clinching the ODI series 2-1, the Women in Blue were high on confidence and looked in good shape to challenge the Proteas in T20s. Chasing a respectable total of 165, India got off to a good start with the opening partnership of 47 that came off just 4.4 overs. Mithali Raj (54 not out) and Smriti Mandhana (28) set the stage for the middle order to take it up from there. Debutant Jemimah Rodrigues grabbed the opportunity with both hands and made a mark with a breezy 37 off 27 that was laced with four boundaries and a six. Veda Krishnamurthy (37 not out) joined the party with a quickfire knock and belted three boundaries and as many sixes. India won the match by seven wickets and had seven balls to spare.

Earlier in the day, winning the toss and electing to bowl first, India restricted the visitors to 164-4 in 20 overs. The big shoes of Jhulan Goswami who is ruled out of the T20 series due to injury were filled by Pooja Vastrakar, who picked up one wicket. Shikha Pandey also accounted for a wicket. Offie Anuja Patil was the pick of the bowlers grabbing 2-23 in her four overs. Skipper Dan van Nierk, was the highest run getter for South Africa scoring 38 off 31 balls. There were some useful contributions in the middle order by Mignon du Preez (31), Nadine de Klerk (23 not out), and Chloe Tryon (32 not out) that helped the hosts to post a respectable total of 164 in 20 overs.

The second T20 will be played on Friday at Buffalo Park, East London.

Source: Pro Fantasy Cricket

Mithali Raj and co. take an unassailable lead of 2-0 against South Africa

Riding on Smriti Mandhana’s heroics with the bat, Women in Blue posted a daunting total of 302-3 in 50 overs against the Proteas on Wednesday at Kimberley. The southpaw (135) continued from where she had left in the previous innings and received some solid support towards the end with middle order batswomen joining the party. India vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 55(69) and found an able ally in Veda Krishnamurthy who muscled a quickfire 51(36). The South African bowlers had an off day with as they could manage to pick up just three Indian wickets.

Chasing 303 was going to be tough and with the batting order collapsing like a pack of cards, Proteas had a bleak chance of achieving the target. Opening bat Lizelle Lee (73) continued to fight but received no support from the other end. Indian spinners hunted in tandem and accounted for eight scalps together, with the leggie Poonam Yadav alone picking up four. The South African inning was done and dusted for a paltry 124 in 30.5 overs and India registered another comprehensive win, this time by 178 runs.

The third ODI, which will be just of academic importance, will be played on Saturday. India might look to test their bench, and an opportunity to try Jemimah Rodrigues at the top of the batting order seems to be on the cards.  

                                                                                       Source: Getty Images

Mandhana and Goswami help India thrash SA by 88 runs

Mithali Raj and co. made a solid start to their tour by beating South Africa in the first ODI at Diamond Oval, Kimberley by 88 runs. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Women in Blue posted a decent tally of 213-7 in their full quota of 50 overs. India’s opening bat Smriti Mandhana stamped her authority over the Proteas as she muscled 84 off 98 balls, that was laced with eight boundaries and a six. The southpaw from Maharashtra found an able ally in skipper Mithali Raj who scored a patient 45 off 70 balls. India’s middle order that was led by vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur failed to click. Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka picked up two wickets each.

Chasing 214, the hosts never looked at ease against the strong Indian bowling line-up that was spearheaded by Jhulan Goswami. The two medium pace bowlers; Shikha Pandey and Jhulan Goswami bowled well in tandem, unsettling the Proteas, with their accurate lines and lengths. The wreckers-in-chief were assisted well by the spin wizards; Poonam Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Dane van Niekerk, the skipper of South Africa was the lone warrior scoring 41 off 88 balls. In the end, the hosts were done and dusted for a paltry 125 in 43.2 overs, handing an easy win to the visitors.

The two teams face off in the second of three match-ODI series on Feb 7 at the Diamond Oval, Kimberley. 

                                                                                                 Source: Twitter

India women tour South Africa to play 3 ODIs and 5 T20s

The Indian men’s cricket team may be going through a tough time in South Africa after their 1-2 loss at the hands of the hosts in the 3-match Test series. However, they have a reason to smile now as the Men in Blue have opened the ODI series account with a clinical win on Thursday.

Amidst the exciting ODI and T20 series that is lined up for the men’s team, India eves have also set their foot on the South African soil to play a 3-match ODI series and a 5-match T20 series. The Women in Blue play their first ODI against the Proteas on Feb 5. They have arrived much in advance, and are scheduled to play a practice game on Feb 2. This will definitely do a world of good for the women, as they have been away from overseas conditions for quite some time. Though the girls have had a solid domestic season, playing in overseas is a different ball game altogether.

Mithali Raj, who is the highest run getter in women’s ODI cricket, will be leading from the front and will be assisted by T20 sensation Harmanpreet Kaur for the 3-match ODI series. For the T20s, Harmanpreet Kaur will take the charge and will have the aggressive southpaw from Maharashtra; Smriti Mandhana as her deputy.

One name that has made a lot of news is that of the 17-year old Jemimah Rodrigues, who plays for Mumbai. She has had an unbelievable domestic season last year and has grabbed many eyeballs with her scintillating knock of 202 (163) against Saurashtra in a 50-over game. At such a young age, she already plays for Mumbai U-19 and senior team, and is now set to bleed blue in South Africa.    

ODI squad: Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Ekta Bisht, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav, Punam Raut, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jhulan Goswami, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Mona Meshram, Pooja Vastrakar, Veda Krishnamurthy, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper).

T20 squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Anuja Patil, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav.

Source: Female Cricket

How To Make Fitness A Habit?

One of my school teachers often used to say, “First you spend health to earn wealth and then you spend wealth to earn health”. Though this sentence is more than 10 years old, still it is very fresh in my mind. During that time seldom did any one in the class understood the essence and true meaning of the school teacher’s seemingly innocuous statement which later might have haunted many of us who are running the rat race. Today when I look back and reflect upon what I feel was a warning, my teacher was so very right. Through his innocent statement my teacher was actually telling the class what lies ahead of us once we are out of the cosy bed of school life and set to traverse the thorny road of cut throat competition. He gave us one of the most important lessons of life, which, however hard I may try, is impossible to go out of my mind.

I would be simply exaggerating if I would say that since my school days I was conscious about my fitness or even contemplated of making fitness a habit. However, the regular dose of sports that was offered to me in school was enough to keep me in good shape. It is true that the values that are imbibed in you right from your childhood have a long life. Be it the physical exercise or discipline, if practised regularly, becomes a part of you. In the language of sports, there is something called as the muscle memory. To put it in simple terms, the chores or the activities that you practise on a regular basis becomes a part of your muscle memory and advertently or inadvertently becomes a part of you.

The need for fitness in today’s competitive world is enormous. Apart from the mental fitness which is a must, the role of physical fitness cannot be ignored. It is not in the 21st century that the importance of fitness was recognized, but, the significance of fitness dates back to 19th century when Charles Darwin propounded the “survival of the fittest” theory. To draw parallels with our current surroundings, it can be said that the one who is the fittest among the lot is expected to climb up the ladder of success with ease, whereas the unfit ones are bound to succumb under pressure and collapse like a pack of cards.

In today’s modern world, people resort to different sources of fitness like Gymnasium, Zumba, Yoga, and Sports to achieve their common goal of living a healthy life. Based on my interactions with my friends and colleagues, I have observed that some of the highly motivated fitness freaks lack consistency and give up in a week or two. They expect fast results and are unwilling to travel that extra mile to achieve fitness. If I were to delve deep into this and understand why my friends and colleagues found it daunting and overwhelming to devote one or two hours of the day for their fitness, I can think of something that I already discussed before; muscle memory. The extant literature states that it takes 21 days to form a habit. If the body is tuned to waking up early in the morning and then doing the fitness activities for a period of 21 days, then, this habit is formed and is stored in the muscle memory. For some the 21-day rule may work wonders and for some it might be just another myth. However, the essence here lies in not giving up. To cut the story short, consistency (in terms of exercising or any other form of fitness activity) is the key to unlock the closed doors of a fit body.

Thus, I would conclude by saying that in order to make fitness a habit, consistent efforts have to be undertaken in that direction. Exercising for one day a week and expecting a body like Michael Phelps or Cristiano Ronaldo or Virat Kohli is like building castles in the air. To make fitness a habit, one should follow 4D’s – Dedication, Determination, Devotion, and Discipline. Practising the 4D’s will only take you one step closer to making fitness a life-long habit. And once, this habit is inculcated in you, then you would not have to spend your hard-earned wealth on your health.

Note: This article is written as a part of Gympik Fit-A-Thon contest and should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. Gympik is not responsible for any kind of infringement caused.

Road to the final of ICC Women's World Cup 2017

India and England will lock horns against each on super Sunday at the Mecca of Cricket in the final match of ICC Women's World Cup 2017. Both the teams have seen ups and downs in the league round but have come out strong in the knockout stage.

Let us have a quick look at the journey of both these teams so far.

Team India

Opponent	Result
England	Won by 35 runs
West Indies	Won by 7 wickets
Pakistan	Won by 95 runs
Sri Lanka	Won by 16 runs
South Africa	Lost by 115 runs
Australia	Lost by 8 wickets
New Zealand	Won by 186 runs
Australia	Won by 36 runs

Team England

Opponent	Result
India	Lost by 35 runs
Pakistan	Won by 107 runs
Sri Lanka	Won by 7 wickets
South Africa	Won by 68 runs
Australia	Won by 3 runs
New Zealand	Won by 75 runs
West Indies	Won by 92 runs
South Africa	Won by 2 wickets

England have just lost one match in this tournament against the team which they will face in the grand finale. 

India eves have their tails up after the win against the six time world champions Australia. England have won the World Cup three times already, whereas India is yet to open its account. The Women in Blue have been in the finals before 12 years back and this time around they will be hoping to clinch the Cup.

Mithali Raj is the second highest scorer in this tournament just behind Australia's Ellyse Perry with 392 runs from 8 games at a healthy average of 49.00. Raj has still one game to go and is more than likely to be the highest run scorer. Not too far behind are English batters; Tammy Beaumont (387) and skipper Heather Knight (363). 

India's Deepti Sharma stands fourth in the wicket taking list with 12 wickets, whereas the highest wicket taker for England is the captain Knight with 8 wickets from as many games.

It is expected to be a cracker of a contest between the two sides at Lord's on Sunday. Let us hope for a solid game of cricket and may the best team win.

Source: YouTube