The first set of games will see two massive rivalries take the centre stage, with Australia taking on defending champions England at Seddon Park in Hamilton on March 5 and last edition's runners-up India facing Pakistan in Tauranga on March 6.
A total of 31 games will be played across 31 days, with the eight teams clashing to get their hands on the coveted World Cup trophy. Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Wellington will be the six cities that will host the tournament.
Australia, England, South Africa and India qualified for the event on the basis of their position in ICC Women's Championship 2017-20 while New Zealand automatically qualified as hosts.
On the basis of team rankings, Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies were the final three teams to book their berth for the World Cup after the Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier was called off due to COVID-related uncertainty.
The tournament will be played in the league format, where all eight teams will face each other once, at the end of which the top four sides will qualify for the semi-finals.
The first semi-final will be played at The Basin Reserve in Wellington on March 30 while The Hagley Oval in Christchurch will host the second semi-final on March 31 and the final on April 3. Both the semi-finals and the finals will have a reserve day in place.
The last global women's event played was the T20 World Cup in Australia in March 2020 when the hosts won by beating India in the final.
India will be touring New Zealand before the World Cup, serving as ideal preparation for the mega event.
Electing to bat, Pakistan folded up for a meagre 72/7 with Sana Mir (20 not out) and Nahida Khan (18) managing to reach the double figures in a lacklustre batting effort.
In response, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (34 not out) and her deputy Smriti Mandhana (38) steered the Indians to a comfortable victory with 23 balls to spare after starting on a shaky note.
Earlier, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht spun a web around the Pakistanis with three wickets, and was well assisted by the other Indian bowlers who stuck to a disciplined effort.
During their chase, India too got off to a forgettable start, losing former skipper Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma for ducks with the scoreboard ticking 5/2.
But thereafter the defending champions did not look back as the left-right combo of Smriti and Harmanpreet forged a brilliant 65-run third wicket stand to take the side within sniffing distance of victory.
Table toppers India (8 points) will now have to wait for the final league match between Bangladesh women and hosts Malaysia later in the day, to find their opponents for Sunday's summit clash.
On the other hand, second-placed Pakistan, with six points in their kitty will desperately hope for an upset by Malaysia over Bangladesh (also on 6 points) to bag a place in the final.
Harmanpreet had walked the ramp for a designer at a fashion event in Mysuru earlier this week.
"If we are getting an opportunity to do something different as well, at times I think we should do it. Sometimes you do get opportunities to learn something new, so what is the harm in doing so," Kaur told IANS on the sidelines of Crocs Mysore Fashion Week.
"We are playing so much cricket nowadays. Sometimes, too much cricket is not good for us... We get stuck at times. Doing some new things at times breaks the monotony, entertains you and you can feel fresh. Then when you go back to the field, you are rejuvenated and play better with a fresh mind, as well as enjoy your game on a better level," she added.
Veteran batswoman Mithali Raj will captain the side that will compete in the eight-team competition Britain.
India have never won the trophy. They finished runners-up in 2005 to Australia.
The squad:
Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht, Sushma Verma, Mansi Joshi, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Nuzhat Parveen, Smriti Mandhana.
Lauren was dismissed just before lunch by pacer Pooja Vastrakar.
Earlier, England women had won the toss and elected to bat.
India, who are playing their first Test in almost seven years, are fielding five debutants -- batter Shafali Verma, all-rounder Deepti Sharma, pacer Pooja, and wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia. Off-spinner Sneh Rana, who is also making her debut, is returning to India fold after five years.
For England, all-rounder Sophia Dunkley is making debut. She becomes the first black player to represent England women's Test team.
Brief scores (Lunch, Day 1):
England: 86/1 wkt in 27 overs (Lauren Winfield Hill 35, Tammy Beaumont 44 batting, Heather Knight 4 batting)
Chasing 162 for a win, star opening batswoman Smriti Mandhana took the Indian team on course for a consolation win with a career-best knock of 86 from 52 balls but the visiting side failed to build on her scintillating knock to end their innings at 159 for 4.
With the three-match series already lost after defeats in the first and second T20Is, India surprisingly named senior player Mithali Raj in the playing eleven and she contributed 24 not out from 20 balls after coming to bat at the fall of captain Harmanpreet Kaur (2).
But she failed to hit a four from the final delivery bowled by Leigh Kasperek as India lost the match by two runs.
India needed 16 runs from the final over and Raj and Deepti Sharma (21 not out) raised hopes of a remarkable win by hitting boundaries in the first and third deliveries but were left to hit a four off the last ball.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, whose indifferent form has hurt the team, said she was disappointed at the result and the 0-3 series defeat. India had won the three-match ODI series 2-1 before this T20 contest.
"We are disappointed to lose the series like this, we could have done better. We have a lot of work to do," she said after scoring just two on Sunday.
She had scored 17 and 5 in the first two matches.
"In T20 Internationals we need to make improvements in the final 10-over batting. More importantly, we need to sort out the batting order.
"But there are positives from this series like the batting of Smirti and Jemimah as well as the performance of bowlers," she added.
Mandhana, who had scored 58 and 36 in the first two matches, continued her red-hot form by notching up her eight T20I fifty and second of the series as she dominated against New Zealand bowlers yet again.
With one-down Jemimah Rodrigues (21), the other batswoman who has been in fine touch, India reached 92 for 2 at the halfway stage.
But after that, India could not force the pace of scoring and with captain Kaur failing to make a mark, the asking rate kept on climbing.
When Mandhana was out in the 16th over, India needed 39 from 4.3 overs which was not an easy job. Raj and Deepti could not get too many boundaries and they were left with 16 to win from the final over.
Electing to bat, New Zealand looked set to post a much bigger total by reaching 80 for 2 at the halfway stage but India came back strongly to force a batting collapse as the home side ended their innings at 161 for 7.
Hard-hitting opener Sophie Devine top-scored with a sparkling 52-ball 72 which was laced with eight boundaries and two sixes while captain Amy Satterthwaite contributed 31 from 23 deliveries.
The duo's 71-run stand for the third wicket from exactly eight overs was the highlight of the New Zealand innings. The other opener Suzie Bates (24) and one-down Hannah Rowe (12) were the other batswomen who reached to double-digit figures.
Devine dominated against all the Indian bowlers, especially against leg-spinner Poonam Yadav whom she hoisted for two big sixes during her onslaught.
But once Devine was dismissed in the 17th over, New Zealand suffered a batting collapse, scoring just 21 runs from the remaining 3.2 overs. From 140 for 2 in the 17th over, New Zealand ended their innings at 161 for 7.
The Indians got a wicket each in the 18th and 19th overs and two from the final over to make a remarkable comeback in the final five overs from which they conceded just 34 runs.
Off-spinner Deepti Sharma grabbed two wickets for 28 runs while Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Radha Yadav and Arundhati Reddy took a wicket apiece.
Australia will tour England later this year to play a one-off Test in the multi-format women's Ashes series that includes three ODIs and three T20Is as part of a points-based seven-match series.
Besides Australia and England, India and South Africa are the two cricket playing nations to have played women's Test matches in the last decade.
"We'd love to play more Test matches. Unfortunately, it's only Australia and England that are interested at the moment, and we only play each other every couple of years. That probably is a bit of a problem," Lanning was quoted as saying by SEN Radio.
"Hopefully down the track more countries are interested. I think India would be great at playing Test matches. I think they'd probably be the big fish to get involved because they've got such a big influence in cricket.
"If that was the case, I think that would definitely help that side of the game grow. But unfortunately, one game every two years, it's difficult to prepare for and play well. But we enjoy playing them so hopefully there's a few more down the track," she added.
The 27-year-old Lanning made her debut for Australia in 2010 and since then she has played only three Tests as compared to 85 T20Is and 72 ODIs.
Meanwhile, the women's T20 exhibition games, scheduled to be held during the playoffs of the ongoing IPL, will feature overseas players from six nations.
According to a report in espncricinfo, some of the top women's international players who will be invited for the three-team tournament include West Indies' Deandra Dottin and T20 World Cup-winning captain Stafanie Taylor, South Africa skipper Dane van Niekerk and fast bowler Marizanne Kapp besides Sri Lanka's Chamari Atapattu.
The overseas players of Australia's Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) and the English Kia Super League (KSL) are set to be grouped with cricketers who had participated last year, including Australia's Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Megan Schutt, New Zealand's Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine, and England's Danielle Wyatt.
She achieved the feat as she stepped on the field during the first ODI of the three-match series between India and South Africa at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara on Wednesday. She scored 11* as India won the match by eight wickets against the Proteas.
Mithali, who made her ODI debut against Ireland on June 26, 1999, has completed 20 years and 105 days of her career in the 50-over format. She is also the only female cricketer to have played ODI cricket for over two decades.
The right-handed batter holds the record for playing the maximum number of ODIs in women's cricket. She has played 204 ODIs till now and is followed by England's Charlotte Edwards (191), Jhulan Goswami (178), Alex Blackwell (144) of Australia.
The 36-year-old has represented India in 10 Tests and 89 T20Is as well. Last month, Mithali retired from T20I cricket
Overall, legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for having the longest international career -- 22 years and 91 days. He is followed by Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (21 years and 184 days), Javed Miandad (20 years and 272 days) of Pakistan, with Mithali coming in at the fourth spot.
While Jhulan Goswami (3/33), Shikha Pandey (2/38), Ekta Bisht (2/28) and Poonam Yadav (2/33) starred with the ball, openers Priya Punia (75 not out) and Jemimah Rodrigues (55) made noticeable contributions with the bat to help India clinch a comfortable win at the Reliance Stadium.
Opting to bat, South Africa were off to a poor start and the Indian bowlers kept on jolting them at regular intervals. Laura Wolvaardt (39) and Marizanne Kapp (54) were the only two batswomen who showed some fight to help South Africa reach a moderate total of 164 before they were wrapped up in 45.1 overs.
Chasing the target, Punia -- who was making her ODI debut and Rodrigues -- gave India an upper hand as the duo shared an 83-run opening partnership. In the 21st over, Rodrigues was trapped in front of the wicket while she tried for a sweep off the bowling of Nondumiso Shangase.
Punia was then joined by Punam Raut (16) and both shared a short 45-run partnership to help India cross the 100-run mark.
Raut however, was dismissed in the 32nd over as she fell in a similar fashion like Rodrigues. Punia and the experienced Mithali Raj (11 off 24) then denied the visitors any further inroads into the Indian batting line-up as they comfortably steered their side to the target in 41.4 overs.
Punia's debut innings in the 50-over format, which came off 124 balls, was laced with eight boundaries. She was adjudged the Player of the Match.
Both the sides will next lock horns on Friday in the second ODI at the same venue.
50 on ODI debut for Priya Punia ?? #TeamIndia #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/mkEPv0wCwD
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 9, 2019
Captain Mithali Raj and Punam Raut's 119-run stand for the third wicket fuelled the Indian run chase. Mithali was the top scorer with 66 runs while Raut scored 65. The stand was broken when Mithali fell to Marizanne Kapp.
India suffered a mini collapse of sorts after that with Raut and Deepti Sharma being dismissed within the next two overs but Harmanpreet Kaur and Taniya Bhatia saw India through to the end.
Opener Laura Wolvaardt was the highest scorer for South Africa with 69 off 98 balls. She shared significant stands with the top order batters. It was Poonam Yadav who gave India the breakthrough by dismissing Lizelle Lee in the 16th over, thus ending the South African opening stand on 76.
Jhulan Goswami bowled an economic spell for 10 overs while Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht, and Poonam Yadav finished with two wickets each.
Brief scores: South Africa 247/6 (Laura Wolvaardt 69, Mignon du Preez 44; Shikha Pandey 2/38) India 248/5 (Mithali Raj 66, Punam Raut 65; Ayabonga Khaka 3/69)
While GM Cricket Operations and women's cricket in-charge Saba Karim's approach saw the girls leaving without any daily allowance, the new office bearers after taking charge ensured that the problem was solved at the earliest and money was transferred on Wednesday (October 30).
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI functionary said that the financial process started under the Committee of Administrators (CoA) around September 18 and Karim was also sent the initial mail for approval around September 23 and despite that, there was no development on the matter till October 24.
"For all the talks of process and smooth sailing under the CoA, we have a scenario where the girls were in a foreign land without cash. Who is responsible? If the whole process was started by the finance people as early as September 18, why did the completion of documentation take till October 24? Had it not been for the promptness shown by the new office bearers, we would have seen the girls struggling without allowance," the functionary said.
Another functionary questioned why there was no development in the matter despite Karim being sent repeated mails to seek approval in the process.
"If my calculation is right, Karim was sent the first mail for approval on September 23. The reminder was then sent to him on September 25. And a second reminder had to be sent to him again on October 24 when he finally sent an email to the CFO for approval. Is this the kind of professional set-up that the CoA time and again spoke of?" the functionary questioned.
This isn't the first time that Karim has been caught napping when it comes to women's cricket. Questions have been raised when it came to the handling of the process of selection of support staff of the women's team as well. But to keep the cricketers stranded on foreign soil is surely something that could have been avoided.
On Wednesday evening, India rode on a brilliant 141-run opening stand between Mandhana (74) and Rodrigues (69) to chase down the 195-run target with 47 balls to spare at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
Earlier, West Indies women had a poor start after electing to bat as the opening batters found it difficult to get the scoring started. No runs were scored in the first two overs as Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey had Hayley Matthews and Natasha McLean pegged back with pace.
Natasha was the first to go, trying to play across the line and the ball popped up from the edge of the bat for an easy catch. Hayley playing in her first game this series, eventually took a liking to the pace from Goswami and Pandey, belting them for three fours and a six on her way to 26. However, her got run-out slowed down the pace of the Windies inning and they were reduced to 50/4 inside 20 overs.
Chedean Nation's stay in the middle did not last long as she fell for 6. Kyshona Knight and skipper Stafanie Taylor looked set to rebuild the shaking innings, as they converted their chances for quick singles. After building a steady partnership of 34 runs, Kyshona got out after scoring 16 runs.
Then came the partnership that took the host to a defendable total. Stacy-Ann King and Stafanie added 96 runs to drag the total close to 200 before Stafanie was caught and bowled by Poonam Yadav for 79.
Stacy-Ann soldiered on to 38 before she was bowled by Goswami. The rest of the West Indies batters fell for single digits as they finished their allotted quota of 50 overs on 194 all out.
India started their run-chase confidently with Mandhana playing for the first time in the series. Together with Rodrigues, the pair took a liking to the West Indies bowlers.
They posted 141 runs before Hayley Matthews had Rodrigues stumped for 69. Mandhana continued her scoring but became Matthews' second scalp for 74. Poonam Raut was Hayley's third wicket. India had a slight wobble with four wickets falling in a short space of overs but they were comfortable winners by six wickets in 42.1 overs, finishing on 195/6.
The two teams will now face each other in a five-match T20I series, with the first two being played at the Daren Sammy Stadium on November 9 and 10.
Brief scores: India women 195/4 (Smriti Mandhana 74, Jemimah Rodgrigues 69; Hayley Matthews 3/27) beat West Indies women 194 all out (Stafanie Taylor 79, Stacy-Ann King 39; Jhulan Goswami 2/30)
Star batswoman Smriti Mandhana has become the second fastest Indian to score 2,000 runs in one-day internationals, adding yet another feather to her cap.
The left-handed batter achieved the feat during the third and final ODI against West Indies played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Wednesday which India won by six wickets.
Mandhana played a 74-run knock and alongside Jemimah Rodrigues, stitched a 141-run opening partnership as Indian eves chased down the 195-run target with ease, thereby clinching the three-match ODI series 2-1.
The 23-year-old has taken 51 innings to reach the 2,000-ODI run mark becoming the third fastest woman after Belinda Clark and Meg Lanning to achieve the milestone. She has till now scored 2,025 runs in 51 ODIs at an average of 43.08. She has scored four centuries and 17 fifties till now in her ODI career.
The 15-year-old Shafali and Mandhana shared a record 143-run opening partnership as India posted 185 for 4 in their stipulated 20 overs at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium here.
The visitors then returned to restrict West Indies for 101 for 9 to complete the win on Saturday.
Pacer Shikha Pandey (2/22), the spin duo of Radha Yadav (2/10) and Poonam Yadav (2/24) claimed two wickets each, while both Deepti Sharma (1/15) and Pooja Vastrakar (1/21) accounted for one wicket.
Put into bat, Shafali, playing only her fifth T20I, smashed six boundaries and four sixes to notch up her maiden international half-century.
Mandhana too matched her younger partner, smashing 11 fours in her 46-ball innings as India cruised to 102 for no loss in 10 overs.
The duo recorded the highest partnership for any wicket by an Indian pair in T20Is, bettering the 130 amassed by Thirush Kamini and Punam Raut against Bangladesh in 2013.
Shafali was the first to go when she was dismissed by Shakera Selman in the 16th over.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur then produced a 13-ball 21, while Veda Krishnamurthy provided the late charge with a 7-ball 15 to take India to a challenging score.
For the hosts, Selman and Anisa Mohammad snared two wickets each, while Hayley Mathews conceded 39 runs from her four overs and Chinelle Henry bled 26 from the only over she bowled.
Chasing 186 to win, West Indies struggled to stitch partnerships with Shermaine Campbelle top-scoring with a 34-ball 33.
Once the openers -- Hayley Matthews (13) and Natasha MacLean (0) fell early, Campbelle tried to steady the innings but West Indies kept losing wickets on the other end.
Campbelle too couldn't push the pace as her 34-ball innings had just two fours and a six.
Chedean Nation (10), Kyshona Knight (12) and Stacy-Ann King (13) couldn't stay long enough as West Indies were looking down the barrel at 86 for 6 in 14.1 over.
The lower-order then crumbled under pressure as India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Brief Scores:
India Women 185/4 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 73, Smriti Mandhana 67; Anisa Mohammed 2/35, Shakera Selman 2/36) beat West Indies Women 101/9 in 20 overs (Shermaine Campbelle 33; Radha Yadav 2/10, Shikha Pandey 2/22) by 84 runs.
Chasing a modest target of 104 on Sunday evening, Indian eves broke little sweat as both the Indian openers, who stitched a record partnership in the first match, got the team across the line in the 11th over.
Earlier, Anisa Mohammed, who was captaining the side after Stafanie Taylor was ruled out of the series due to injury, won the toss and elected to bat first.
Just like the opening game, runs were again hard to come as Hayley Matthews and Stacy-Ann King opened the batting. Stacy-Ann was the first to go for 7 followed by Shemaine Campbelle for a four-ball 0.
Chedean Nation steadied the Windies middle order with Hayley, as the pair added 34 runs together before the opener - in her attempt to hit a straight six -- was caught in the deep for 23. Chedean fell soon after for 32 as Natasha McLean was the only other batter to reach double figures. She made 17.
The hosts finished their 20 overs on 103/7. Spinner Deepti Sharma was the pick of the Indian bowlers as she returned with figures of 4/10 from her four overs.
Shafali, who on Saturday had become the youngest Indian to score an internationally fifty, took a liking to the West Indies' bowling.
The 15-year-old struck her second consecutive half-century to lead the Indians to victory in the 11th over. She finished on 69 not out while her opening partner Smriti Mandhana remained unbeaten at 30.
India won the match reaching 104/0 in 10.3 overs. Afy Fletcher was the most economical West Indies Women's bowler with 0/11.
With a lead of 2-0, India will now aim to seal the series when they take on West Indies in the third T20I at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday.
Anisa Mohammed won the toss for the fourth time and West Indies elected to bowl first, a decision that paid dividends in a match reduced to 9-overs a side because of the weather disruption.
The West Indies slow bowlers were all over the India batters who looked to maximize their scoring in the limited-overs available.
First up was Hayley Matthews whose off-spin bamboozled the Indian top order, as she accounted for the wickets of Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Veda Krishnamurthy. Kyshona Knight supported Hayley by taking a spectacular sliding catch to remove Jemimah. Hayley finished her maximum 2 overs with figures of 3/13.
Then came the remainder of the spin backup, as Afy Fletcher and Sheneta Grimmond provided support for Hayley and Anisa Mohammed.
In her second over, Afy was on a hat-trick as she removed Harmanpreet Kaur and Harleen Deol. Afy finished with mindboggling figures of 2/2 from her 2 overs. Sheneta had 2/10 from her two overs. She picked up the wickets of Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar.
India Women ended their 9 overs on 50/7. Vastrakar was their top scorer with 10 followed by Taniya Bhatia on 8 not out.
Once again, slow batting by the West Indies Women costed them the match as they failed to charge at the Indian bowling in the reduced overs.
A shake-up of the batting also did not help in their quest, as Chedean Nation who opened the batting with Hayley Matthews found the runs difficult to come by, she scored 3 runs from 8 deliveries.
Hayley, Chinelle Henry and Natasha McLean tried to get the ball to the boundary, hitting a four each, but the Indian bowlers limited anything else with their lines and variations.
The West Indies Women could only manage to reach 45/5 from their 9 overs. Hayley Matthews top-scored with 11 from 14 deliveries, followed by Chinelle Henry who had 11 off 16. Anuja Patil was the best bowler for India Women, taking 2/8 from her 2 overs.
The fifth and final T20 International will be played on Wednesday at the National Stadium in Providence, Guyana.
The visitors defended the target of 135 with utmost ease as they restricted Windies to 73/7 in their stipulated quota of 20 overs. Off-spinner Anuja Patil was the pick of the Indian bowlers as she picked two wickets by conceding just three runs in her three overs. The other two spinners, Radha and Poonam Yadav, also scalped a wicket each and never allowed the Windies batters to get any sort of momentum during their chase.
Earlier, India opted to bat after winning the toss. However, they didn't have a great start as both openers - Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana - went back to the pavilion after scoring just 9 and 7 respectively.
However, from there on, Jemimah Rodrigues and Veda Krishnamurthy took the mantle in their hands and stitched a 117-run stand for the third wicket. Rodrigues scored 50 runs before gifting away her wicket to Aaliyah Alleyne in the penultimate delivery of the innings. Krishnamurthy played an unbeaten knock of 57. Her 48-ball innings was studded with four boundaries.
Like India, Windies too didn't start their innings well as they lost two wickets early after Natasha McLean (9) and Chedean Nation (0) were departed cheaply by Anuja in the fourth over.
Chinelle Henry then tried to steady the ship and knitted a 15-run partnership with Kyshona Knight for the third wicket before she got out in the 10th over, reducing them to 28/3.
Hayley Matthews (2) too failed to leave a mark on the crease and was sent back by Pooja Vastrkar.
Kyshona, who contributed with 22 runs off 39 balls, was scalped by Harleen Deol in the 14th over. From there on, the hosts kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and were ultimately could reach 73/7 in the allotted 20 overs.
Before the T20I series, India had also won the three-match ODI rubber 2-1.
Brief scores: India women 134/3 (Veda Krishnamurthy 57*, Jemimah Rodrigues 50; Hayley Matthews 1/23) beat West Indies women 73/7(Kyshona Knight 22, Shemaine Campbelle 19; Anuja Patil 2/3) by 61 runs.
The teenager picked up the willow seeing her father Manabendra Ghosh, now a part-time Bengal umpire, at a tender age of four and a half years and after a good show in the Challenger Trophy has made her way into the national team.
"I never thought that this will happen so fast. It's hard to believe and the feeling hasn't sunk in yet," Richa told PTI on her way back to Kolkata.
"My first role model has always been my dad from whom I learnt cricket. Then it was Sachin Tendulkar, who will always remain my idol."
But when it's about her six-hitting skill, it's none other than MS Dhoni.
"I love the way he hits sixes and try the same. Whoever may be the bowler, when you have the bat, you can do anything."
In the Bengal team, Richa has been backed by none other than Jhulan Goswami and she always exchanged notes with India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who incidentally hails from her hometown Siliguri.
"Jhulan di always supported me in the team while I always got help from Wriddhi da. He remains busy but we speak on and off. I'm really grateful to them and to my coaches, the Cricket Association of Bengal for supporting me."
Spotting her seriousness for the game, her father had enrolled her at the local Bagha Jatin Club -- then the only girl in the club, but she played fearlessly and made rapid strides and was called for senior Bengal camp in 2012-13.
"Everything happened so fast that it's difficult to realise. We are all shocked but it's like a pleasant one," the awestruck father said.
"But we all had always felt she was different from others. When we all played cricket for fun, she was always serious when she had the bat with her," Ghosh said about Richa, a die-hard Sachin Tendulkar fan.
Known for her six-hitting exploits, the 16-year-old from Siliguri is a complete package -- someone who loves to open the batting, bowls quick and also keeps wickets.
"She's a coach's delight, a God-gifted talent. But she's is very young and we have to ensure that she goes a long way," Bengal women's team coach Shib Shankar Paul said.
Bengal trainer and wicketkeeping coach Rahul Deb said she easily clears the boundaries and her fielding is top-notch.
"She's a natural talent and a ready to don any role for the team, be it batting, bowling, wicketkeeping or her accurate and powerful throws from the deep. Going forward, she just needs to train on her fitness," Deb said.
So, when the news trickled in that Richa was picked after her eye-catching performances in the for the Smriti Mandhana-led India 'B' side in the just-concluded domestic Challengers Trophy, Richa was in the ongoing Bengal camp in Mankundu, about 45 kilometres from here.
The Bengal camp celebrated her selection with a cake-cutting ceremony.
The Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretary Avishek Dlmiya also wished her success.
"It's fabulous news. She is really talented and has been performing very well in domestic cricket. She is a hard-hitter and is one of the few women cricketers, who can clear the boundaries of full-size cricket grounds with ease.
"A true all-rounder in every sense, Richa is an asset for any team as she can bat, bowl and keep wickets depending on the requirement of the team. We are confident that she would excel in a global event. Our best wishes are with her," Dalmiya said.
(PTI)
The contract has been divided into three grades -A, B and C. India's T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, opener Smriti Mandhana and spinner Poonam Yadav will pocket a sum of Rs 50 lakh each in Grade A.
Grade B comprises of eight women cricketers -- Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Taniya Bhatia. The players in this category will receive Rs 30 lakh.
Lastly, grade C includes Veda Krishnamurthy, Punam Raut, Anuja Patil, Mansi Joshi, D. Hemlatha, Arundhati Reddy, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Harleen Deol, Priya Punia and young batting sensation Shafali Verma, who will all pocket Rs 10 lakh each.
Earlier on Thursday, the BCCI had announced the annual contract for the senior national men cricketers.
(IANS)
Put into bat, India posted a below-par 132 for four in their stipulated 20 overs, riding on Shafali Verma's 15-ball 29 and an unbeaten 46-ball 49 from Deepti Sharma.
However, the visitors then returned to bowl out the hosts for 115 in 19.5 overs.
Australia were off to a good start to their chase with opener Alyssa Healy (51) making a 35-ball 51 laced with six boundaries and a six to anchor the chase initially.
However, Indian spinners led by Poonam triggered a collapse as Australia suddenly slipped to 82 for six.
Poonam (4/19) snapped four wickets, two in successive deliveries of the 12th over to break the backbone of Australia's chase.
Ashleigh Gardner (34 off 36) tried her bit but didn't get any support from the other end.
Earlier, India frittered away a flying start to post 132 for 4 against defending champions Australia at the Sydney Showground stadium here on Friday.
Sent into bat, opener Shafali blasted 29 off 15 balls studded with five fours and a six but Jess Jonassen (2/24) took two wickets to reduce India to 47 for three.
Deepti (49 not out) and Jemimah Rodrigues (26) then added 53 runs to bring up the hundred.
India will next take on Bangladesh at Perth on February 24.
Brief Score:
India: 132 for 4 in 20 overs (Deepti Sharma 49, Shafali 29; Jess Jonaseen 2/24).
Australia: 115 in 19.5 overs (Alyssa Healy 51; Poonam Yadav 4/19).
(PTI)
The rankings table sees Australia and England retain the top two positions, their points tally remaining 291 and 280, respectively. India, who made the final of this year's Women's T20 World Cup in March, have overtaken the White Ferns, in what is the only change in the top 15 of the 56-team list.
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In ODIs, six-time World Cup champions and winners of both editions of the ICC Women's Championship, Australia's stellar display during the rating period saw them win 20 of 21 ODIs, increasing their tally by eight points to 160 and because of that they have maintained their top position.
Their massive lead of 39 points over second-placed India is the largest by any team (men or women) in any form of the game. It comes on the back of 3-0 series wins over India, Pakistan, New Zealand, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and an earlier 2-1 win over England at the start of the ICC Women's Championship, only a few months after England had won the World Cup in 2017.
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India (121) and England (119) have lost four points each while clinging on to their second and third positions, respectively, while South Africa (107) enjoy a 13-point lead over New Zealand (94), with the West Indies (85), Pakistan (77), Bangladesh (61) and Sri Lanka (47) following in that order.
The latest update expunges results from the 2016-17 season, weights the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons at 50 per cent and the 2019-20 matches at 100 per cent.
(IANS)