Vadodara, Feb 15: The UP Warriorz have put in the hard yards in pre-season, and are all geared up to begin their campaign at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 season against Gujarat Giants in Vadodara on Sunday.

The team welcomes a new captain Deepti Sharma while retaining the mission to fight hard and win every match. This season also brings a thrilling new chapter as UP Warriorz will play at their home stadium in Lucknow for the very first time during phase three of the tournament.

The team kicks off their campaign in Vadodara, facing the Gujarat Giants on February 16, and will play two games in the first phase. In Bengaluru and Lucknow, after that, the UP Warriorz are scheduled to play three matches each, respectively, to close out the league stage of their campaign.

Captained by Deepti Sharma, who hails from UP, and coached by England’s Jon Lewis, the UP Warriorz have a strong bowling set-up, especially the spin battery, which is possibly the most dangerous in the competition. Sophie Ecclestone, who is the WPL’s highest wicket-taker with 27 scalps in two seasons, has India’s best bowler in the format Deepti Sharma for company in the attack. Deepti, who has bagged 138 wickets for India, has amassed 19 dismissals across two seasons for the UP Warriorz. And backing them up are the likes of Australian Alana King, Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu (three wickets in 4 games), Rajeshwari Gayakwad (13 wickets from 16 games) and Gouher Sultana.

If the spinners are a deadly combination in the UP Warriorz set-up, the pace attack too is quite prolific. While Anjali Sarvani’s (six wickets in 13 games) shown her abilities with the ball in the first two seasons, the emergence of Saima Thakor has been a shot in the arm for the UP Warriorz. While Saima has only picked three wickets in six games, her ability to control the situation and the way she has grown from strength to strength over the last year augurs well for the UP Warriorz. Along with Saima, who is likely to lead the attack, and Anjali, the Warriorz also have in the ranks, the exciting speedster Kranti Goud, who helped Madhya Pradesh win a domestic ODI title for the first time with her four-wicket haul in the final.

For the UP Warriorz, the batting line-up is also one of their strengths. Sri Lankan ace Chamari Athapaththu, along with the Australian duo of Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris are well known to score fast in the T20 format, and when in form can really put the long handle to good use.

Among the Indian batters, Deepti leads the way, and will look to continue with her attacking approach, which was one of the reasons she won the MVP in Season 2, when she scored three half-centuries and was striking at close to 150. The likes of Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat and Vrinda Dinesh, have all shown plenty of promise in the recently completed domestic season and will hope to carry that form into the WPL.

While the batting and bowling departments can do plenty of damage to the opposition team, and put the UP Warriorz in a favourable position in the game, there are two aspects which could hamper their progress.

For starters, the fielding is an aspect Jon Lewis and Co. will want to work on this season, as catches can truly win matches, and UP Warriorz did not fare well in the field in Season 2. The other aspect that the UP Warriorz will be hoping for a bit of luck in is with injuries, especially to crucial young players.

UP Warriorz squad: Deepti Sharma (c), Uma Chetry (wk), Chinelle Henry, Poonam Khamnar, Kiran Navgire, Dinesh Vrinda, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Shweta Sehrawat, Anjali Sarvani, Sophie Ecclestone, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Saima Thakor, Arushi Goel, Kranti Goud, Gouher Sultana.

Kolkata, Feb 12: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have announced a first-of-its-kind Trophy Tour ahead of the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Last year, they won their third IPL title, adding to the ones they claimed in 2012 and 2014.

As part of their championship celebrations, the franchise will travel along with the coveted trophy across multiple cities in India to connect with the heart of their fanbase. This marks the first time in history that an IPL franchise is organising a Trophy Tour beyond their home city.

“The initiative aims to give the nationwide KKR fans a chance to interact with the trophy and witness their favourite team’s achievement in all its glory. Ahead of the new season, the extensive tour will see the prestigious IPL trophy journey across nine cities, starting from February 14 in Guwahati and finally making a return to the City of Joy in Kolkata by March 16,” the franchise said in a release.

The tour will cover multiple regions in their catchment area including Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Gangtok, Siliguri, Patna, Durgapur, and Kolkata.

Through this initiative, KKR aims to create memorable experiences for the fans who have constantly shown their support for the team throughout the years.

The engagement will give the fans a first-hand experience of the trophy while also allowing them an opportunity to create their own memories with the ultimate prize.

The fans can participate in exciting cricket-themed games including Cricket Rock Paper Scissors and Cricket Pong. Each visitor will have a chance to win fantastic prizes and take home special KKR giveaways, making their trophy-viewing experience even more memorable.

“We are very excited to bring the Trophy Tour to our fans in Eastern India. Due to some unavoidable reasons, we couldn’t do a victory march in Kolkata after the title win last season. For us, our fans are like family. They have showered KKR with immense love, in good times and bad.

“This tour is our attempt at bringing back to the fans the trophy our players had won through their constant love and support last season,” Binda Dey, Group CMO, Knight Riders Sports.

Ahmedabad, Feb 12: England’s seasoned leg-spinner Adil Rashid dismissed India star batter Virat Kohli for the 11th time in international cricket during the third ODI here at Narendra Modi Stadium.

With this dismissal, Rashid has now joined an group of bowlers who have troubled Kohli the most in international cricket. He stands alongside New Zealand’s Tim Southee and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, both of whom have also dismissed Kohli 11 times across formats.

During the Ahmedabad encounter, Rashid outfoxed Kohli with a well-flighted delivery that turned sharply, catching the outside edge before being safely pouched by wicketkeeper Phil Salt. It marked the second successive match in which Rashid had dismissed Kohli in a similar fashion, having also claimed his wicket in the second ODI in Pune.

Rashid’s success against Kohli has been spread across all three formats, with five dismissals in ODIs, four in Tests, and two in T20Is. His ability to deceive Kohli with his variations and sharp turn has made him one of the most effective spinners against the Indian stalwart.

Earlier in the match, Kohli notched up his 73rd ODI half century in fifty balls after opener Shubman Gill brought up his back-to-back half-centuries and soon converted it into his seventh ODI ton in 95 deliveries.

Last match centurion, skipper Rohit Sharma got out early on Wednesday, scoring just one run.

At the time of writing the story, Indian are at 214 /2 in 30 overs with Gill batting at 105 along with Shreyas Iyer, who is at 49

Bowlers who have dismissed Virat Kohli the most in international cricket:

Tim Southee (New Zealand) – 11 dismissals in 37 matches

Josh Hazlewood (Australia) – 11 dismissals in 29 matches

Adil Rashid (England) – 11 dismissals in 34 matches

Moeen Ali (England) – 10 dismissals in 41 matches

James Anderson (England) – 10 dismissals in 37 matches