Poonam Yadav Sees WPL As A Platform For India Comeback
Deepti Sharma becomes India's highest wicket-taker in T20Is, completes 100 scalps
Sophie Ecclestone surpasses Poonam Yadav in a rare bowling feat
BCCI announces squads and schedule of Women's T20 Challenger Trophy
The four-team tournament will commence on November 20 and run until November 26 and consists of a total of seven matches.
WBBL 2021 | Harmanpreet Kaur’s all-round show, Poonam Yadav’s match-winning spell in limelight
India Women’s T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur seems to be on a roll and have found her form just at the right time it seems. In back to back games, she gave match-winning performances, one with the bat and one with the ball to get her team Melbourne Renegades Women to the top of the Women’s Big Bash League 2021 points table. The off-spinner picked three wickets, giving away just 22 runs in her four overs to restrict the Melbourne Stars Women unit to only 103 in 20 overs in the first derby game of the season at Adelaide Oval. Along with her Sophie Molineux also picked two wickets. While coming to chase the total, the Gades were up and running and chased down the total in only 14.1 overs with Jemimah Rodrigues playing yet another brilliant innings of 45 off just 38 balls. In another game, Poonam Yadav, the Indian slow leg spinner was also in the limelight with her bowling as she picked the wicket of her compatriot Smriti Mandhana as her team Brisbane Heat Women restricted Mandhana’s Sydney Thunder to 143-7 in their 20 overs. Yadav in total picked three wickets in the game and was a front runner for the Player of the Match award before Georgia Redmayne hit a match-winning fifty to propel the Heat to their fifth win in nine games, which lifted them to second place in the points table.
Harmanpreet calls for women’s IPL to improve players' performances in pressure situation
India Women's T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has echoed the need for a women's Indian Premier League, supporting her teammates Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodriguez, who have already reasoned for the biggest cricket league's women's edition. Harmanpreet gave an example of how Australian Women's players are already benefitting from something like the Women's Big Bash League. "If you look at the way Tahlia McGrath batted today, we can see the confidence they are getting from a tournament like WBBL. They are ready to play international cricket. She has not played much in international cricket but got to play many matches before playing for Australia," Kaur said in the post-match presser. As many as eight Indian players are part of WBBL this season with Poonam Yadav being the latest joined, signing up for Brisbane Heat on October 07. Harmanpreet said that these leagues help a player get exposure to the pressure situation and perform under it. “If we had women's IPL, the domestic players would get a lot of chances to prove themselves under pressure. I think that is the only reason we are lagging right now. Before getting to play in international, if we get a chance to play in a domestic tournament like IPL, we will definitely improve. In Australia, they get 20-30 matches in WBBL before getting to international cricket. It will develop your skills and give you experience so that you don't feel lost in international cricket," she added. India failed to defend 118 runs in 20 overs in the second T20I, even after getting Australia down to 46-4 in the first 10 overs at one stage. The third and final T20I is scheduled to be played on October 10.
Brisbane Heat signs Poonam Yadav, eighth Indian to play in WBBL
Leading Indian leg spinner Poonam Yadav became the eighth Indian to register a place in WBBL as she was signed by Brisbane Heat on Friday. She will join Brisbane Heat after the ongoing India-Australia tour will get over. The 30-year-old will fill the spot left by New Zealand player Amelia Kerr. “It’s very exciting to welcome a player of her class and experience into our group. We know there is a lot of upside to Poonam coming on board this summer,’’ Heat coach Ashley Noffke was quoted as saying on the team’s official website. “When we lost Amelia Kerr, we were confident we could back our group to give a good account of themselves regardless. But adding Poonam’s skill and her competitiveness is a huge result.” Coach Noffke said that Poonam’s presence will also help the youngsters in the team as she has shown her calmness and composure on the biggest stage in the world at MCG. “We’re really keen for her to share those insights with our players during the tournament and will urge the group to learn as much as they can. We’re looking forward to introducing her to everyone once the International series is completed and getting ready for the Tasmanian leg of the tournament,” he added. Before her, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet KaurRicha Ghosh are the other Indians to have played in this league.
Mithali Raj regains top spot on ODI Rankings, Smriti Mandhana jumps to third on T20 rankings
India Women ODI skipper Mithali Raj has regained the top position on the ICC Women's ODI Player Rankings for batters after a good series with the bat against England. She has topped South Africa Women’s Lizelle Lee and Australia Women’s Alyssa Healy. Mithali has jumped to 762 rating points while Lizelle and Healy are close to each other at 758 and 756 points respectively. Mithali had an outstanding series with the bat and scored 205 runs in the three-match long series with an astounding average of 103. Meanwhile, India Women opener Smriti Mandhana has broken into the top three of the ICC Rankings for batters in T20 format. The rankings list is topped by India’s Shafali Varma while Mandhana has surged to third on the table. She had scored 119 runs in the three-match T20 series against England. She had scores of 70, 20 and 29 in the three games of the series. In the bowling department, Jhulan Goswami and Poonam Yadav find themselves in the top 10 on the list of the ICC ODI Rankings for bowlers. Goswami has earned the fifth spot while Yadav has surged to the ninth position on the table. In the ranking list for all-rounders, India Women have a solitary entry in the form of Deepti Sharma who finds herself at the fifth position.
With a chance to draw level in long format series, Harmanpreet’s brigade prepares for one last fight
The Indian women’s team have performed well in chunks on their England tour so far. But whenever all three departments clicked together, it has resulted in a victory, be it the last ODI or the second T20I. With the last game of the tour remaining, the brigade led by Harmanpreet Kaur need to pull up their socks and get ready for one last battle and try their best to win, not just the T20I leg of the long format series, but also draw level on the points table with the hosts, who as of now have eight points, while the Indian side has six. Sneh Rana must be utilised properly Apart from the amazing team effort, another common factor that has been key in all of India’s best performances is Sneh Rana. The all-rounder, having saved the Test with her unbeaten 80 in the second innings in Bristol, came back to partner with skipper Mithali Raj and hit quick runs to see India through in the last ODI. In the second T20I also, it was her cool and calm last over that got India Women the much-needed victory. But in matches, where she wasn’t used properly, it resulted in a thrashing for the Indian team. For instance, in the first T20I, even after bowling just two overs and going for only 14 runs in them, the Railways player was not allowed to bowl her full quota. In that very game, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Deepti Sharma and Arundhati Reddy were all taken for plenty and had higher economy rates than the 27-year-old off-break bowler. Thus, taking a cue from it, neither only should Rana be allowed to bowl her full quota, but should also be promoted to bat up the order, especially in death overs because of her hitting abilities. England would look to avoid silly mistakes The second T20I was England Women’s to lose with just 43 required from 38 balls and eight wickets in hand. But the way they panicked at the end to lose by a big margin of eight runs was not what Heather Knight and her team are known for. They lost six wickets in just 37 runs and their lower batters in Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone and even Sophia Dunkjley on that day wasn’t able to resurrect the innings. Taking a lesson from that defeat, the English team would look to identify a batter who could play till the end as an anchor and other players would contribute with quickfire runs around her. England Women vs India Women: Match Details Match Number- 3rd T20I Date and Time: July 14, 2021, 11:00 pm IST, 06:00 pm GMT, 07:00 pm Local Venue: County Ground, Chelmsford Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV Pitch Report In the Women T20Is played at the County Ground in Chelmsford, five have resulted in a win for the chasing team while four times the team batting first have managed to defend the total. As far as recent T20s go, which are being played as part of the T20 Blast competition, teams chasing have won three out of the last four completed games. The matches haven’t been high scoring this season with the average score hanging at about 140. This gives a clear picture of what to expect in terms of assistance to the bowlers. The pitch offers a low scoring thriller and could hence help India Women in a way that they like to defend or chase low totals. Weather Forecast and Toss The weather at Chelmsford promises to be ideal for a cricket game with temperatures ranging between 21-19 degrees Celsius from 1900 hrs to 2300 hrs, the entire duration of the game. The skies would be clear and humidity wouldn’t be that high either. With the current records in mind, the team winning the toss would go for a field first approach. Team News England Women The England team is highly unlikely to change given that they played the best possible xi on that day. However, if the team would like to go for a change then they can play Anya Shrubsole in place of Freya Davies and since they already have two frontline spinners, Sarah Glenn who didn’t have a good outing with the ball could make way for Tash Ferrant. Probable XI Tammy Beaumont, Danielle Wyatt, Natalie Sciver, Heather Knight(c), Amy Ellen Jones(w), Sophia Dunkley, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Mady Villiers, Anya Shrubsole, Natasha Farrant India Women Having won the previous game with the same team, India Women wouldn’t look fiddle with the winning combination, hence the same team is expected to start. Probable XI Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Richa Ghosh(w), Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Arundhati Reddy Dream XI team suggestion Tammy Beaumont, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones(w), Sophia Dunkley, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sophie Ecclestone, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav
ENGW vs INDW | 2nd T20I: India level series after a dramatic finish
India women’s team levelled the T20I series against England after winning the second match by 8 runs in Hove. Chasing 149 in 20 overs, the home side was restricted to 140/8. England had a disappointing start to the chase after losing Danielle Wyatt and Natalie Sciver early in the chase after the hosts were reduced to 31/2 before opener Tammy Beaumont and captain Heather Knight stitched a stand of 75 runs for the third wicket to steady the ship for the team. But Beaumont’s departure for 59 off 50 broke the shackles and the Indian team made a strong comeback. England lost wickets at regular intervals, courtesy some brilliant bowling and impressive fielding efforts and were left tottering at 137/8 to eventually suffer a defeat. In the eight wickets that went down for England, four came in the form of runout. Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma were the pick of the bowlers for India. While Yadav returned with figures of 2/17 in 4 overs, Sharma picked up one wicket at the cost of 18 runs in four overs. Earlier, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave India a solid start after the two put 70 runs on the board for the first wicket before Mandhana departed for 20 off 16. Verma who was looking in some good touch fell short of a fifty and was dismissed just a couple of runs after Mandhana’s wicket. Later, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma stitched a partnership of 40 runs for the third wicket. Kaur notched up a 25-ball 31 while Sharma remained unbeaten at 24 off 27 as India managed to score 148/4 in 20 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur hailed the team’s effort. “I think it was a great effort from the whole team. They were on the toes and I am very happy. We got a very good start. Two three overs, we didn't get many. Then I had to go as we thought we needed 150 at least to win. I would give credit to our bowlers. Was very important on these wickets as the ball was coming nicely on to the bat. Credit to the fielders as well for doing well. We always want to win wherever we go,” she said. England captain Knight lauded the efforts from the bowling unit while admitting that her dismissal did change the game. “I think we were very good for large proportions of the game, the way we pulled it back after that start was outstanding. Really proud of the bowlers. I couldn't get back in and it's just one of those things and it wasn't deliberate by Deepti. It was given out and that changed the game. We were in a great position and asked the batting group to be ruthless, we got to be better in the next game,” Knight said. The two teams will now play each other in the decider in Chelmsford on Wednesday.
ICC Women Rankings: Mithali Raj regains her top-five spot among ODI batters
Indian Women skipper has regained her spot in the top five of the Women’s batter’s rating in ODI cricket after her 108 balls 78 in the first match of the three-match ODI series against England Women. The list is still topped by South Africa Women’s Lizelle Lee. The other Indian in the top 10 among ODI batters is Smriti Mandhana who slid one position and currently sits at number nine. In the bowler’s raking Jhulan Goswami has maintained her number five position while Poonam Yadav did not play in the first ODI and had a below-par outing in the home series against South Africa has slipped to number nine. The list is topped by Megan Schutt of Australia Women. England Women’s Sophie Ecclestone entered into the top 10 courtesy of her 3-40 spell vs India Women in the last game. Among the all-rounders, Deepti Sharma has maintained her number five position in the list while other Indians including Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur are in the top 20 but not part of the top 10. The list is jointly topped by South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp and Ellyse Perry. The Indian Women return to Taunton, for the second ODI against England Women on June 30 and all of these ladies would be under the spotlight if India are to get back into the series.
ENG W vs IND W | One-off Test: Know India Women's possible playing XI
The Indian Women’s team led by Mithali Raj would be playing its first Test in eight years when it takes on England Women in a one-off Test in Bristol starting Wednesday, June 16. When India last played a Test match in England, it was in 2014 and on this tour, they have seven players who were part of the historic win seven years ago in Taunton. As things stand, among those seven players, most likely one would miss out. The selection of the playing XI is going to crucial keeping in mind the English condition. OneCricket tried coming out with the best possible India Women XI for the Test at Bristol. Openers: Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma The Indian Women would look to go with the tried tested Smriti Mandhan as the opening batter. But alongside her, sending Shafali Verma could turn out to be a great move considering that she is free-flowing in her approach and can dampen the English pace attack very early. In English conditions, sending Verma might be a tricky choice given that she has not even played an ODI let alone red-ball cricket. But that is the risk that India can take as they have the luxury of experienced Middle order and Smriti at the top as well who can do damage control if Verma falls cheaply. But if Verma does fore as is expected of her, it would give India Women the much-needed advantage. The 24-year-old Mandhana though has experience of both ODI and red-ball cricket as well. Although she hasn’t had much success in three Test innings but has 4000 international runs behind her to give her confidence in England. Middle Order: Punam Raut, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma Once the foundation is set by the two openers, then the experienced middle-order consisting of skipper Mithali with her more than 10000 international runs which include 663 Test runs, Test centurion Punam Raut and explosive Harmanpreet Kaur can join the party. While the 38-year-old skipper has a double hundred to boast of and an average of more than 50, Kaur and Raut are also more than capable of enough of getting the game moving. In fact, Raut’s comeback to the Indian team was on the back of her performances in Days game at domestic level and then the Test hundred against South Africa Women in 2014. Harmanpreet is already pumped ahead of the game as she said in the pre-match press conference that she is looking to emulate the team’s victory in 2014. An explosive batter, she and Deepti also provide bowling options. Deepti is actually the fifth bowler in the squad having already picked up 119 international wickets in 109 international appearances. Yet to play a Test match, the 23-year-old Bengal player is already an Arjuna Awardee. Wicket Keeper: Indrani Roy This Bengal born Jharkhand player received her maiden call up to the national team on the back of a brilliant outing in the Senior Women’s National ODI Trophy in March- April this year. She is most likely to make her debut for India and that too Test cricket directly as her batting skills overpower those of other selected wicket-keepers, Tania Bhatia and Sushma Verma. Originally an opener for her domestic side, the 23-year-old would have to bat down the order in this lineup. She scored 456 runs at an unbelievable average of 76 with two centuries and a fifty. Bowlers: Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Poonam Yadav With the inclusion of Indrani, the Indian team would have seven pure batters and would thus have a chance to play an extra bowler. In that case and to utilise the English weather and pitch conditions properly, India would most likely go for three fast bowlers in the form of the experienced pair of Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey alongside Madhya Pradesh Express Pooja Vastrakar. Jhulan even at 48 can generate enough bounce with the red ball to trouble any batter in the women’s game and Shikha, along with her ability to move the ball, also has a history behind her when she alongside skipper Mithali chased down the English total to seal the win seven years ago. Though Vastrakar hasn’t had much success in the six ODIs she has played so far, not being able to pick even a single wicket. But in the 20 T20Is, the 21-year-old has had 16 scalps. She is quick, can bat and most importantly is accurate and that’s why gets into the playing XI ahead of Arundhati Reddy. As far as Poonam Yadav being picked over Radha Yadav and Ekta Bisht, both left-arm spinners is concerned, it is mainly because she provides the wrist spin option which would be any day beneficial against the English batters as compared to orthodox spin. A case for Jemimah Rodriguez Jemimah Rodriguez might get a game as well. But not in our XI. Although a gifted batter, who could roll her arm as well, the only place she fits in is opening with Smriti Mandhana. But her recent outings (55 runs in five innings) aren’t in her favour and thus getting a go-ahead of someone as dominating as Verma is a bit difficult. Note India would be targeting a record fourth successive win, which no other team has done so far in Women's Test cricket. Would they be able to do it? We will find out. The match would start at 03:30 pm IST and you can catch all the action along with ball by ball commentary and pre-match discussions from 03:00 pm itself on the OneCricket app and website.