Cricket may be a religion in India; but it’s mostly men's cricket we speak of. This has seen a gradual change in recent times and women's cricket has started to attract at least some of the attention it deserves. The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup is starts on 21 February 2020. The tournament will culminate in the finals that will take place on Women's Day 8th March at the MCG in Melbourne. Here’s a ready reckoner ahead of the women's cricket world cup.
Indian cricket fans started to notice the women in blue when the Indian team reached the final in the ODI World Cup in 2017. Since then we know more about our players and their stellar achievements.
Australia, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are a part of Group A. England, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand and West Indies make up Group B.
Defending champions Australia take on India today in the first match. Live telecasts have been confirmed by Star Sports and Hotstar. Here are some of the top players of the tournament to watch out for:
She is the former skipper of the team and currently ranked at No 1 in the ICC T20 batting ranking. The 32-year-old is a seasoned campaigner who has valuable experience of international and league cricket.
India’s Smriti Mandhana is currently at No 4 on the ICC T20 batting rankings. She has been named Wisden cricketer of the year in the past and as also the first Indian woman to score a double hundred in a one day game. The 23 year old has been a consistent performer and will be one of the mainstays of India’s campaign in this tournament.
The 27-year-old is currently placed at the top of the ICC women’s rankings for T20 bowlers. She has the distinction of being the first woman to take a hat-trick in ODIs for Australia and she is also the first woman bowler to take two hat-tricks in international cricket.
This 19 year old has come a long way from her modest beginnings as the daughter of a vegetable vendor who started playing cricket with the boys. She was the joint leading wicket taker for India in the previous tournament with eight dismissals in five matches. She is at number 4 on the T20 batting rankings.
Just below Radha Yadav is bowler Deepti Sharma. Apart from her bowling abilities she is also known for her world record opening partnership of 320 runs with Poonam Raut. She is also the first Indian woman to bowl three maidens in a T20 match.
She has the top stop in the ICC rankings for T20 all-rounders. She was a part of the national soccer team at 16 and then went on to play for the cricket team; making her the first Australian to have appeared in the cricket and football world cups! She was the first player to reach 1000 runs and claim 100 wickets.
The Indian captain has several firsts to her name. She was the first Indian woman to score a century in T20 internationals. She is also the first Indian cricketer (female or male) to play 100 international T20 games. She will be the key to India’s fortunes going ahead in the tournament. India wishes her and all the women in blue good luck and consistently good form for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
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