Harmanpreet Kaur likely to become the first Indian to play Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League

When the talks of having women’s IPL are doing the rounds, this small town girl from Moga, Punjab is likely to become the first Indian to play in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) which was started just last year. This Australian league has already garnered tremendous attention and many international cricketers are willing to play this league. Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain of the Indian women’s cricket team is one of the leading favourite overseas players, who is believed to make the cut to play in the WBBL this year.

The young and aggressive middle order batswoman has already impressed many with her free flowing batting and electrifying fielding. Add to this her more than handy bowling skills and Harmanpreet is a complete package that can squeeze in any T20 outfit. She has a solid batting technique and can take on any bowler in the world. Kaur is equally poised on the back foot and can come dancing down the track at her own will and wish.

The winners of the inaugural WBBL; Sydney Thunder and the runners-up Sydney Sixers have marked Kaur as an interesting choice for this season. Early this year, when India toured Australia for a three match T20 series and a three match ODI series, the 27-year old all-rounder played a pivotal role in India’s success in the T20. India won the series 2-1, thanks to Harmanpreet’s special services. In the first T20 itself, the Indian vice-captain cruised to a blistering 46 off 31 balls and helped her team chase down a record total (from India’s standpoint) of 141 runs. Her knock immediately caught the eyes of many and now she is in the reckoning of being the first Indian to play the Australian league.

If Harmanpreet has the potential and the essential caliber to play the overseas league, you cannot keep some of the other dashing players like Veda Krishnamurthy and Smriti Mandhana too far from playing these tournaments. Sharing the dressing room with some of the best international players, rubbing shoulders with them and discussing match strategies will serve as a great learning exercise to the Indian eves.

On June 1, when the BCCI led by the newly appointed President Mr. Anurag Thakur decided to allow the Indian women cricketers to play the foreign leagues like Australia’s WBBL and England’s WSL (Women’s Super League), the women’s cricket fans in India and across the globe could sense that this was the beginning of something big. “I have set a target for the women's team that by 2020 they should be No 1 in the world”, declared Thakur. These words were like music to the ears to all the well-wishers of women’s cricket in India.

The Indian’s women cricket is definitely traversing the path of development and is all set to carve a beautiful picture in the years to come.

 

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A big boost for women’s cricket in India; India eves can now play foreign leagues like WBBL and Kia Super League

The only trending topic for the cricket lovers in this cricket crazy nation for the last two months was the over-hyped but one of the most loved cricket tournaments; Indian Premiere League. When many hearts were broken when the run machine Virat Kohli’s RCB failed to win its first ever IPL trophy, soon, on the flip side, we had some good news coming in for the women cricketers in India. Mr.Anurag Thakur, who was recently promoted to become the President of the BCCI has said, “I have set a target for the women's team that by 2020 they should be No 1 in the world”.

These words of wisdom are cherished not only by the ardent followers of women’s cricket but also by the women cricketers themselves. What this means is that the Indian eves will now be permitted to play overseas T20 leagues like Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia, which was started just last year as well as England’s Kia Super League, which will kick start this English summer in July. The Indian ladies just missed the bus to play for the Kia Super League as the foreign players to play this league have been already finalized.

With the likes of veteran players like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami still making news in the international cricket, this reform comes as a great sigh of relief, for them to showcase their talent in foreign leagues. Young guns like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Veda Krishnamurthy and Anuja Patil, who had a far better World Cup early this year than their teammates will be eyeing this opportunity as well.

Let’s us hope that this change indeed changes the way women’s cricket is perceived in India.  

source:www.espncricinfo.com

Women in Blue did not qualify for the semi-final; but win many hearts

Not once, not twice, but thrice did the Women in Blue could not hold on to their nerves in the Group Stage of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2016. After starting off with a comprehensive victory against Bangladesh, the Indian fans across the globe were positive and hoped that the women’s team would certainly make the cut for the knock-outs. Arch rivals Pakistan got the better off India, courtesy their 2-run win as per the D/L method in the rain-interrupted game. Mithali Raj & co. were fighting hard but perhaps not hard enough because everytime they inched closer to the victory, they let loose and helped the opposition get the better of them. At Dharamshala, the hosts had almost pocketed a stunning win against England while defending a humble 91 runs, but lost the match in the final over by two wickets.

It was a do-or-die contest at Mohali when the Indian team locked horns agaist West Indies. The Group was open as none of the teams had qualified for the knock-outs. Was it the pressure or was it the nerves that put the India eves in a shell? Only our girls can answer this. Chasing 115 runs in a big match could get tricky sometimes and that is what exactly happened on Sunday. The bowlers Harmanpreet Kaur (4-23 in 3 overs) and Anuja Patil (3-16 in 4 overs) did a commendable job in restricting the Carribeans to 114 even after the magnificent knocks from Deandra Dottin (45 runs off 40 balls) and skipper Stafanie Taylor (47 runs off 45 balls). Mind you, the girls were capable of chasing this target, as they had chased a record 141 against Aussies in their own backyard a couple of months back.

The otherwise powerful stroke-maker Harmanpreet Kaur (7 runs off 20 balls) looked out of sorts, so did India’s most dependable batswoman and skipper Mithali Raj who was out for a duck. Though Veda Krishnamurthy (18 runs off 16 balls) came out all guns blazing, she failed to score big on the big day. The two Maharashtra girls Anuja Patil (26 runs off 27 balls) and Smriti Mandhana (22 runs off 27 balls) tried to consolidate the innings, but unfortunately Mandhana played one on to her stumps to make her way back to the dug out. Anuja then joined hands with one of the most veteran players in the team Jhulan Goswami (25 runs off 19 balls) but it was too late in the day. Goswami muscled a few shots but was unfortunately run out.

India lost the match by merely 3 runs. A decent fielding unit otherwise, there was a misfield in the final over which went for a boundary. Had it been saved, who knows, the Women in Blue would be out there on Thursday to play their semi-final against New Zealand. 

Source: Getty Images

India eves lose against England in a thriller; chances of qualifying for the knock-outs bleak

The fans at Dharamshala witnessed a thrilling contest when the hosts took on England eves on Tuesday in a must-win game. Winning the toss and electing to field first Charlotte Edwards and co. did a wonderful job in restricting the hosts to 90-8 in 20 overs. Apart from Harmanpreet Kaur (26 runs off 25 balls), the other Indian batswomen looked listless as they failed to pick up gaps and hit the odd boundaries. Heather Knight was the pick of the bowlers, finishing off with envious figures of 3-15 in four overs. She caught the hosts in her spin web, not allowing the home team to score off her bowling.

After the batting debacle in the first innings not many would have expected the match to go down the wire. It was some fantastic Indian bowling accompanied with electrifying fielding that helped India’s cause. The Women in Blue held on to their catches and fielded brilliantly to claim a couple of run outs as well. The English team got off to a flying start when they quickly moved on to 2-42 in 5.4 overs. Seeing the start, everybody had written off India’s chances of winning the game. But Mithali Raj and her girls didn’t lose hope till the very end. They made a strong back with the spin twins Ekta Bisht (4-21) and Harmanpreet Kaur (2-22) running through the middle order. There was tension mounting in the visitor’s dugout as the hosts reduced them to 8-87 in 17.5 overs. A rare dropped catch by Raj at covers off Veda Krishnamurthy’s bowling dashed India’s hopes of winning the match. Anya Shrubsole hit the winning runs to see her team winning the nail biting cracker by two wickets.

Heather Knight was declared as the Man of the Match for her match-winning bowling display. Since the hosts have won just one out of three games, they will hope that England beats West Indies on Thursday and India comprehensively defeats West Indies on Sunday, which will give them the outside chance of qualifying for the knock-outs.   

Brief Scores: India Women 90-8 in 20 overs (M Raj 20, H Kaur 26; H Knight 3-15, A Shrubsole 2-12) lost to England Women 92-8 in 19 overs (T Beaumont 20, N Sciver 19; E Bisht 4-21, H Kaur 2-22) by 2 wickets

source: www.cricketcountry.com

Pakistan women beat India by D/L method

It was a cracker of a contest at Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday when the arch rivals India and Pakistan faced off against each other in the ICC Women’s World T20. Sana Mir, the Pakistani skipper won the toss and put the hosts to bat first. Was it the pitch or was it the India-Pakistan match pressure that swallowed the otherwise strong Indian batting line-up? India eves managed to post a humble 96-7 in 20 overs, thanks to some aggressive batting from Veda Krishnamurthy (24 runs off 19 balls). At one stage, they were found struggling at 7-2 in the first six overs. Singles were hard to come and the Indian batters, including the skipper Mithali Raj, could not find gaps. Though the visitors bowled well and fielded brilliantly, India women looked slightly off-colour.

Pakistan started off well and it seemed that it would be a cake walk for them. Sidra Ameen top scored with 26 runs in as many balls. After the initial onslaught by the Pakistan women, the Indian bowlers pulled up their socks and ran through the middle order with some fantastic bowling accompanied by terrific fielding. The catch at covers by Raj and the couple of run outs turned the game around with Pakistan wanting 20 runs off 24 balls. When the Indian dug out was breathing a sigh of relief, the play was interrupted by the unwelcomed rain. The ground was cleared and so were India’s hopes of winning the match. As per the par score (D/L method), Pakistan was marginally ahead by 2 runs. The play never resumed and the visitors were jumping with joy as they clinched this nail biting contest against their arch rivals.

India still leads the Group B table and will play its next match against England on Tuesday at Dharamsala.

Brief Scores: India Women 96-7 in 20 overs (V Krishnamurthy 24, M Raj 16, H Kaur 16; A Amin 1-9, A Iqbal 1-13) lost to Pakistan Women 77-6 in 16 overs (S Ameen 26, N Khan 14; H Kaur 1-9, J Goswami 1-14) by 2 runs as per the D/L method

    source:www.icc-cricket.com

India eves thrash Bangladesh in ICC T20 World Cup 2016 opener

The Women in Blue did not put a single foot wrong on Tuesday when they faced their eastern neighbours Bangladesh in the opening game of ICC World T20 2016. The visitors won the toss and elected to field first. Mithali Raj-lead India was more than happy to go out there and express themselves. Skipper Mithali (42) and opening bat Vellaswamy Vanitha (38) smacked the Bangladeshi bowlers all-round the park. They stitched a wonderful 62-run partnership in 46 balls. It was not yet over. Though India lost its star batswoman Smriti Mandhana (0) cheaply, Harmanpreet Kaur (40) and Veda Krishnamurthy (36*) ensured their team posted a challenging total on board. India finished off with its highest ever T20 score of 163-5 in 20 overs. The Indian batting was top class. Fahima Khatun and Rumana Ahmed were the pick of the bowlers with couple of wickets apiece.

Bangladesh’s approach never looked like they would chase down this mountain-like target. The hosts bowled well to restrict the visitors for a paltry 91-5, thus winning the match by a huge margin of 72 runs. Spin twins Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav were brilliant with the ball as they grabbed up two wickets each. Wicket-keeper Nigar Sultana top scored with 27 runs, withy opening bat Sharmin Akhter chipping in 21 runs.

Harmanpreet Kaur was declared as the Man of the Match for her fantastic batting display. India plays its next match against arch rivals Pakistan on Saturday at Delhi.

Brief Scores: India Women 163-5 in 20 overs (M Raj 42, H Kaur 40, V Vanitha 38, V Krishnamurthy 36*; F Khatun 2-31, R Ahmed 2-35) beat Bangladesh Women 91-5 in 20 overs (N Sultana 27*, S Akhter 21, A Patil 2-16, P Yadav 2-17) by 72 runs

Source:www.espncricinfo.com

Smriti Mandhana does it again for Women in Blue to beat Sri Lanka in the warm-up game

Smriti Mandhana seems to be in sublime form as she scored another fantastic knock against Sri Lanka on Saturday in a warm-up match at Bengaluru. Batting first the island nation posted 125-4 in 20 overs, thanks to a well-constructed innings of wicketkeeper-batswoman Dilani Manodara. Manodara remained unbeaten on 43 off 35 cherries, smacking four boundaries and a six. Eshani Lokusuriyage played a cameo towards the end scoring 34 runs off 20 balls, finding the fence six times. For the hosts, it was Deepti Sharma who bowled well to grab 2-4 in two overs and received good support from Shikha Pandey and Poonam Yadav, who picked up one wicket each.

Southpaw Mandhana, who came in to bat at no.3 started from where she had left in the previous game against Ireland. The 19-year old seems to be enjoying her purple patch as she raced to score 42 runs off just 28 deliveries hitting five boundaries and a six. India openers Mithali Raj (23 runs off 33 balls) and Vellaswamy Vanitha (37 runs off 34 balls) provided a solid start to the run-chase. Harmanpreet Kaur also chipped in with a run a ball 12 run innings to finish off the game in style. Udeshika Prabodhani and Sugandika Kumari were the wicket-takers with one wicket apiece. The hosts chased down the target in 17.5 overs, winning the match by eight wickets.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka Women 125-4 in 20 overs (D Manodara43*, E Lokusuriyage 34*; D Sharma 2-4) lost to India Women 128-2 in 17.5 overs (S Mandhana 42*, V Vanitha 37, M Raj 23) by 8 wickets

Source: www.dnaindia.com