International
Women’s World Cup: Yastika Bhatia, Sneh Rana star in big India win over Bangladesh
Yastika Bhatia scored a half-century, while Sneh Rana came up with all-round heroics (27 and 4/30) in a must-win situation as India secure a convincing 110-run victory over Bangladesh in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup league match at Seddon Park here on Tuesday.
The win helped the runners-up of 2017 edition of the tournament move up to third spot on the points table with three wins and an equal number of losses. But more importantly, it’s the healthy +0.768 Net Run Rate (NRR) that could help India make the semifinal knockouts if multiple teams finish their assignments on identical points.
Not to forget that the Mithali Raj-led India will also have to win their last league game against South Africa at Christchurch on March 27.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for India, though, as they were struggling at 176/6 before Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar finished with a flurry to set Bangladesh a target of 230. Yastika Bhatia was the star of the show with a patient 80-ball 50. As wickets kept falling, she stitched two crucial partnerships with Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh to keep the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs.
Rana was brilliant with the ball as well, finishing with four wickets that broke the back of Bangladesh’s batting line-up. All the Indian bowlers looked unplayable from the word go and were rewarded for their tight bowling with wickets as the required run rate kept climbing for the opponents.
Bangladesh’s chase never took off as only five batters registered double-digit scores, with Salma Khatun top-scoring with 32.
Defending 230, India chose to open the bowling with pace-bowling stalwart Jhulan Goswami and spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Rajeshwari broke through first by dismissing Sharmin Akter while the veteran pacer kept things tight at the other end. India struck once again in the Powerplay through Pooja Vastrakar, who trapped Fargana Hoque in front of the stumps.
With spinners operating at both ends on a slow track, Bangladesh found getting runs tough. Sneh Rana, who created several chances in her first spell, was rewarded with the wicket of Nigar Sultana, who holed out at mid-on attempting to accelerate. Poonam Yadav claimed her first World Cup wicket by dismissing Murshida Khatun, whose 54-ball 19-run innings came to an end in the 16th over.
Rumana Ahmed’s stay at the crease didn’t last long either, with Rana picking up her second wicket of the game as Bangladesh lost half their side. Lata Mondal and Salma Khatun provided some resistance with a 40-run stand before Goswami got in on the act to remove Khatun.
Rana picked up wickets in consecutive overs and eventually finished with a four-for. Goswami finished things off with a wonderful yorker to dismiss Ritu Moni as Bangladesh fell short by 110 runs.
Earlier, Shafali Verma (42) and Smriti Mandhana (30) got India off to a flying start after they opted to bat first, with the duo putting on 74 for the opening wicket until disaster struck on the final ball of the 15th over. Mandhana hit Nahida Akter straight to Fargana Hoque and then Ritu Moni got in on the act during the next over to turn the game on its head quickly.
Shafali Verma tried to hit one out of the ground and was stumped, before skipper Mithali Raj hit her first ball straight to Fahima Khatun at cover as India were quickly reduced to 74/3.
Bhatia and Harmanpreet Kaur repaired the innings but it came at the cost of the run rate falling – their 34-run partnership came in 70 balls before Hoque’s direct hit caught Kaur short of her crease.
India once again had to rebuild their innings with Ghosh joining Bhatia at the crease. The wicketkeeper-batter took the attack to the bowlers early on, smashing Lata Mondal for consecutive boundaries in the 30th over. The duo kept finding the boundaries regularly but just when they looked set, Ghosh was caught behind trying to cut a ball that was too close to the body.
Bhatia got to her second fifty of the tournament but fell off the very next ball attempting the paddle sweep. At 180/6 at the end of 44th over, India needed to finish well and Rana and Vastrakar did just that. Their partnership of 48 in 38 balls propelled India to 229/7.
Brief scores: India 229/7 in 50 overs (Smriti Mandhana 30, Shafali Verma 42, Yastika Bhatia 50, Richa Ghosh 26, Pooja Vastrakar 30 not out, Sneh Rana 27; Ritu Moni 3/37) beat Bangladesh 119 in 40.3 overs (Salma Khatun 32; Jhulan Goswami 2/19, Pooja Vastrakar 2/26, Sneh Rana 4/30) by 110 runs.
International
CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources
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.
International
It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027
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.
International
‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global
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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