Jemimah, Shikha dropped from Mithali Raj-led India squad for ICC Women's World Cup in NZ
New Delhi(PTI): Star batter Jemimah Rodrigues was on Thursday dropped from the 15-member Indian women's cricket squad announced for the ICC ODI World Cup to be held in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3.
Veteran Mithali Raj will lead the last edition's runner-up side with Harmanpreet Kaur as her deputy. The 39-year-old Mithali has announced that she would chalk out her retirement plans after the mega-event.
The squad expectedly includes veterans Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jhulan Goswami and the young Shafali Verma among others. However, Rodrigues and all-rounder Shikha Pandey have been ignored from due to lack of form.
A BCCI source confirmed to PTI that the two have been "dropped" on account of their form in the ODI format.
Rodrigues failed to hit the double figure mark during the last year in all the international assignments she was a part of but was in good touch during The Hundred tournament in England and the subsequent Big Bash League in Australia.
Pandey was similarly off colour during her national duties.
In Richa Ghosh and Taniya Bhatia, India have included two wicket-keepers for the tour, while Sabbhineni Meghana, Ekta Bisht and Simran Dil Bahadur have been named as three stand-by players.
The same 15-member squad will also feature in a five-ODI series against New Zealand from February 11 to 24.
India will open their World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on March 6 at the Bay Oval, Tauranga before facing hosts New Zealand on March 10 at Hamilton, followed by the West Indies (March 12, Hamilton), defending champions England (March 16, Tauranga), Australia (March 19, Auckland), Bangladesh (March 22, Hamilton) and South Africa (March 27, Christchurch).
In the last edition of the tournament in 2017, India narrowly missed out on creating history as they lost by nine runs to hosts England in the title clash.
In a meeting held on Wednesday, the All India Women's Selection Committee also named a 16-member squad to be led by Harmanpreet Kaur for the lone T20 International against New Zealand to be played on February 9 before the ODIs.
The one-off T20 and the first ODI against New Zealand will be hosted by Napier, followed by remaining 50-over games in Nelson on February 14 and 16, and Queenstown on February 22 and 24.
The Squads:
ICC Women's World Cup 2022 & New Zealand ODIs: Mithali Raj (C), Harmanpreet Kaur (VC), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav.
Standby Players: Sabbhineni Meghana, Ekta Bisht, Simran Dil Bahadur.
One-off T20I against New Zealand: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Sabbhineni Meghna, Simran Dil Bahadur.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
