Smriti scores unbeaten ton, guides India to 7-wicket win over West Indies

Agencies
June 30, 2017

Taunton, Jun 30: Opener Smriti Mandhana made amends for missing out on a hundred against England with a scintillating unbeaten 106 guiding India to a comfortable seven -wicket victory against West Indies in the ICC Women's World Cup, here today.Smriti

Chasing a modest target of 184, Indian eves won with as many as 45 balls to spare, courtesy another superlative performance from the left-handed opener Mandhana.

After her match-winning 90 against hosts England, Mandhana started from where she had left the other day, hitting 13 fours and two sixes -- both pull shots.

Along with the ever-dependable skipper Mithali Raj (46), Mandhana added 108 runs for the third wicket virtually shutting the World T20 champions out of contest.

Mithali was unlucky not to score her eighth consecutive half-century in ODIs missing by a mere four runs. She would rue the chance as a loopy full toss from off-break bowler Hayley Mathews was hit straight to Afy Fletcher at mid-off.

But young Mandhana did not let the second chance go abegging, hitting some delightful strokes all-round the park.

When Shanilia Connell dug one short, she rocked to the backfoot pulling it over mid-wicket. She repeatedly found the gaps on the off-side and also hit some glorious shots on the on-side.

India could have been in a spot of bother at 33 for 2 but with a seasoned campaigner like Mithali at the other end, Mandhana went for her shots without much pressure.

The century -- her 2nd in ODIs, came when she charged down the track to loft Stafanie Taylor inside out. The hundred off only 105 balls.

Fittingly, she finished the match with her 13th boundary to get a deserving second 'Player of the Match' award.

"I was quite nervous after 90 but my partner Mona told me not to play a rash shot. This knock is special because we were chasing and my first hundred came in a losing cause (against Australia). Also this comes in a World Cup game," Mandhana said after the match.

Skipper Mithali was also pleased with Mandhana's effort as well as effort from the spinners.

"Very pleased with the way the girls responded with crucial runouts even though there were couple of lapses in th field (drops). A very good knock from Mandhana. I was hoping the seamers would utilise the conditions after we chose to bowl. But maybe it wasn't their day and the spinners did exceptionally well to bring us back," the Indian skipper said.

Earlier, India's spin troika of left-arm spinners Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma, and off-spinner Harmanpreet Kaur restricted the West Indies to a lowly 183 for 8 in 50 overs.

Mithali Raj opted to field and West Indies were comfortably placed at 69 for one in the 19th over before things fell apart and the current World T20 champions were tottering at 91 for 6.

Deepti (2/27 in 10 overs), Poonam (2/19 in 10 overs) and Harmanpreet (2/42 in 10 overs) shared bulk of the spoils with opener Hayley Mathews being the top-scorer with 43.

Shanel Daley (33) and Afy Fletcher (36) showed some defiance down the order taking the score to plus 180, which at one point in time was looking improbable.

Apart from the trio, the other impressive performer was another left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht (1/23 in 10 overs).

The normally economical Jhulan Goswami (0/37 in 6 overs) went for runs as Mathews hit seven boundaries during her 57- ball knock.

However between overs 20 and 35, West Indies innings went haywire at the County ground -- a venue which was ruled by Sir Vivian Richards during his days for Somerset in county cricket.

The Caribbean batters found it difficult to hit leg-break bowler Poonam and the tight wicket to wicket bowling from Deepti and Ekta. Harmanpreet went for some runs but got crucial breakthroughs.

If West Indies managed to cross 180, it was due to Fletcher and her 37-run stand with Anisa Mohammed (11).

For the record, Harmanpreet Kaur had sustained a finger dislocation but it is still not clear whether she will have to miss matches or not.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.

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News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: There was not much rustiness but just the initial nervousness, which a “pleasantly surprised” Sania Mirza shook off to win a title in her first tournament in 27 months, capping off her comeback from a maternity leave in style.

Partnering Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenov, the trailblazing Indian tennis player annexed the Hobart International trophy with a straight sets win over second seed Chinese pair of Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang.

She worked hard to get into shape but the way she moved, it seemed Sania was never away from the courts.

“It's something I did not expect totally, so to say, but I am excited to be able to do this in my first tournament on comeback," Sania told PTI in an exclusive interview from Melbourne.

“I honestly thought I would be a bit more rustier than I was. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not. But there are things I can improve and that is what makes a champion. You always want to get better in what you are doing, no matter how well you do."

The 33-year-old winner of six Grand Slam titles said she played without pressure, and insisted there was no secret to the swift success on comeback.

“There is no key, I wish I knew, there was one key to winning. I just enjoyed my game. You have to work hard, play your game. I was playing with a new partner, new gear after two-and-a-half years. There was no pressure and no expectations.

"The first match was the only one when I felt a bit nervous because I did not know how my body would react and how I would play. That match was difficult but it set the tone and momentum. I was happy to come though that one and after that things kept getting better and better," she said.

Sania said her body has certainly changed after giving birth to son Izhaan but she did not have to tweak her post-match recovery process much.

“It does change. I was dealing with a calf injury, from last month and I aggravated a bit today. I am still icing it as we speak but it should not be serious.

“The body is a lot different now. It recovers different. But recovery (process) has not changed so much, it's similar."

Asked if she could go for her shots as she was doing before the break, she said, “I was able to do enough, I can improve, no matter how I play."

"My serve was decent but I can improve. I the first match I was not serving that well and was not returning well on important points but by the time I was playing the final, I was doing both of those little better. It is a process, it does not happen overnight. It's something will keep working on."

Serena Williams set an example in 2018 when she came out playing highly competitive tennis after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. There are other tennis moms like Victoria Azrenka and Evgeniya Rodina.

Sania said she did not seek any input from tennis moms but their presence on the Tour is inspiring enough.

“I did not speak to anyone but it is inspiring to see so many moms around, playing well in different sports."

Sania will play the Australian Open mixed doubles with compatriot Rohan Bopnna after her original first-choice Rajeev Ram opted out due to health reasons.

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March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: He will be supporting Australia for sure but former pacer Brett Lee feels an Indian victory in Sunday's T20 Word Cup final could be a "start of a major breakthrough" for the women's game in the cricket-mad country.

India and Australia will lock horns in what is expected to be a blockbuster title clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"As an Australian, I'd love nothing more than for (Meg) Lanning's team to do the job. But if India were to win the World Cup for the first time, victory would do so much for women's cricket in a country that already adores the sport," Lee wrote in an ICC column.

"This could be the start of a major breakthrough, particularly with the amount of talent that is coming through."

The former speedster said Australia will have to look for ways to counter the in-form 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

"In Shafali Verma, India boast one of the most talented players in the world and you feel that for Australia to win the game, dismissing her will likely be their first job.

"I've been so impressed with the opener - it's staggering to believe she's only 16 with the confidence she has in her own ability and the way she strikes the ball so cleanly.

"She's such good fun to watch and I'm not sure the women's game has seen anyone like her for such a long time."

Shafali has been the star of the tournament, having amassed 161 runs at a strike rate of 161, consistently providing India solid starts, and that was not lost on Lee.

"To be the world's best T20 batter already shows just how far she has progressed in such a short space of time and the experience in this tournament will hold her in good stead for years to come.

"Even with the way she's played in Australia and her fearless brand of cricket, you still get the feeling she has more to come as well."

He reckoned Shafali may have another big score awaiting her.

"She's got a big score in her locker and there's probably no better place to do that than the MCG. Shafali is already a record breaker but if she can steer her side to their first Women's T20 World Cup title at just 16, then the sky really is the limit for her career."

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