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New Zealand Women thrash India by 63 runs in rain-interrupted ODI

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New Zealand Women moved one step closer to making a clean sweep of the five-match One-day International series against the Mithali Raj-led India, defeating the tourists by 63 runs in the fourth game at the John Davies Oval here on Tuesday.

Amelia Kerr’s unbeaten 68, combined with useful knocks from three other top-order batters helped the White Ferns score 191/5 in a rain-interrupted game reduced to 20 overs per side. For India, barring Mithali Raj (30) and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh (52) no other batter could cross 20 as the tourists were bundled out for 128 in 17.5 overs.

Thanks to all-rounder Amelia Kerr, who is shaping up well for next month’s ICC women’s World Cup at home, the hosts continued to maintain their recent dominance. After scoring a 33-ball 68, Kerr returned with the ball to pick up the final three wickets as India suffered the biggest defeat in the ongoing ODI series so far.

Richa Ghosh (52 from 29 balls) was the only shining light for the visitors as she scored the fastest-ever half century by an Indian woman in an ODI to save some embarrassment for the tourists.

After a lengthy delay due to rain, skipper Sophie Devine (32) and Suzie Bates (41) got New Zealand off to an excellent start as they scored with ease to take the score to 53/0 in the sixth over. Devine fell to Renuka Singh (2/33), but Amelia Kerr joined Bates and the duo continued to put pressure on the Indian bowlers by finding the boundary with ease.

Amy Satterthwaite (32 off 16 balls) got in on the act to smash consecutive sixes from Deepti Sharma (1/49) and Amelia Kerr kept the momentum going as the White Ferns set India a massive target.

India lost Shafali Verma (0) to a soft dismissal to Frances Mackay (2/22) in the opening over of the chase and when Yastika Bhatia (0) fell to Jess Kerr (2/11) in the next over it was not looking good for Mithali Raj’s side.

Pooja Vastrakar (4) was Hayley Jensen’s (3/32) first victim in the next over to make it 12/3 before Smriti Mandhana (13) picked out Amelia Kerr on the deep midwicket fence to ensure the hosts were firmly in control.

Ghosh and Mithali combined to put on 77 from just 49 balls for the fifth wicket to breathe some life into the contest, but it was all in vain as Amelia Kerr (3/30) returned to the attack to put the final stamp on a dominant New Zealand victory.

The fifth and final game of the series will be played at the same ground on February 24.

Brief scores: New Zealand Women 191/5 in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 32, Suzie Bates 41, Amelia Kerr 68 not out, Amy Satterthwaite 32; Renuka Singh 2/33) beat India Women 128 in 17.5 overs (Mithali Raj 30, Richa Ghosh 52; Hayley Jensen 3/32, Amelia Kerr 3/30) by 63 runs.

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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International

It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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