July 23, 2017 by admin

The girls who could be queens

Right-hand batswoman, off-spinner
World Cup 2017: 308 runs in eight matches,
best of 171*; 5 wickets, best of 2/18
Harmanpreet Kaur, the girl from Moga, is the most attacking batswoman in the team, which is not surprising because she idolises Virender Sehwag. She’s been around, having first played for India in 2009, but she’s caught the eye 2013 onward. Right now she’s a household name, after her stunning innings of 171 not out against Australia in the semifinals. She bowls handy off-spin too.
Punam Raut (27)
Right-hand batswoman, off-spinner
World Cup 2017: 295 runs in 8 matches, best of 106
The Mumbai girl first played for India in 2009, when she was just 20. The daughter of a driver with a private firm in the city, Punam has a century in Test cricket (she’s played only 2 Tests) and two in ODIs. Her father could afford to support her in cricket only because his American boss gave him Rs 10,000 in 1999, which financed Punam’s cricket kit, clothing and shoes. He was over the moon when Punam first played for India in 2009. Punam made a half-century and century against the two toughest teams in this tournament, England and Australia.
Mithali Raj (34)
Captain
Right-hand batswoman
World Cup 2017: 392 runs in 8 innings, top score 109
Mithali Raj was born in Jodhpur to Tamil parents when her father was posted there with the Indian Air Force. A trained Bharatnatyam dancer, she gave it up to pursue a career in cricket. One of the two players in the team who were around when India reached the final of the tournament back in 2005. Recently became the first woman player to score 6,000 runs in ODI cricket.
Smriti Mandhana (21)
Left-hand bat batswoman
World Cup 2017: 232 runs in eight
matches, best of 106*
The opening batswoman grew up in Sangli, Maharashtra, where her father ran a business. Both her father and brother were keen cricketers, and she was supported fully as she dreamt of a career in cricket. She played her first ODI in 2013, but it was on her Test debut the next year she caught everyone’s eye — as India beat England in England, she made 22 and 51. In the World Cup, she began with a bang, with 90 and 106*, but has managed only 36 runs in six innings after that. Now is the time for her to recapture her form.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad (26)
Left-arm spinner
World Cup 2017: 6 wickets in 2 matches, best of 5/15
From Bijapur in north Karnataka, Gayakwad was a promising javelin and discus thrower and played volleyball at the district level, but then she moved to cricket. Daughter of a government school headmaster, she moved to Bengaluru to pursue her dreams of making it big in cricket.
Nuzhat Parween (21)
Right-hand batswoman, wicketkeeper
The daughter of a Railways employee based in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, Nuzhat Parween is a promising wicketkeeper and batswoman who first played for India in an T20I match against West Indies last year. She’s played one ODI for India, against Ireland in May, and hasn’t got a game at the World Cup yet.
Poonam Yadav (25)
Leg-spinner, right-hand batswoman
World Cup 2017: 9 wickets in 8 matches, best of 2/19
The girl from Agra, diminutive in stature, is a key bowler in the Indian team. Her father worked in the education board in the Indian Army and never stopped his daughter from playing cricket, apart from the time when he got concerned because, at age 10, she’d get bruised too often playing the game. Poonam is just under five feet tall, and that allows her to flight and loop the ball. In this tournament, she has the second-best economy rate in the Indian team.
Mona Meshram (25)
Right-hand batswoman, pace bowler
World Cup 2017: 24 runs in three
matches, best of 18*
The Nagpur girl comes from a family keen about sport — volleyball, to be more accurate. She, thus, did not face the usual difficulties for a girl playing cricket in India, as her family supported her. She showed promise from early days, and was named the best junior cricketer by the Indian cricket board in 2011. Has a highest score of 78* in ODIs.
Shikha Pandey (28)
Right-arm pace bowler, batswoman
World Cup 2017: 8 wickets in three matches,
best of 3/40
Born in Karimnagar (now Telangana), Shikha Pandey shone in academics as well as sports. The daughter of a Hindi teacher in Goa, Shikha was supported by her family — as she was the owner of a bat, ball and stumps, she was the first player to be invited to play by the boys in the neighbourhood. She became an engineer and joined the Indian Air Force.
Deepti Sharma (19)
Left-hand batswoman, off-spinner
World Cup 2017: 202 runs in 8 matches, best of 78; 6 wickets, best of 3/47
Another Agra girl in the team, this teenager picked up the game when she accompanied her elder brother to his training sessions at the ground. One day, a ball rolled to her from the women’s nets — she threw it back, and it hit the stumps, and she was asked to join the women players. She made her debut for India at age 17, and at 19, she already has a world record to her name — she added 320 runs with Punam Raut in an ODI against Ireland in May, ending up with 188 off 160 balls.
Jhulan Goswami (34)
Right-arm pace bowler, batswoman
World Cup 2017: 7 wickets in 8 matches, best of 2/26
Close to six feet tall, Jhulan Goswami emerged as one of the quickest bowlers in women’s cricket 15 years ago. From the tiny town of Nadia in West Bengal, she has come a long way since then. In 2006, she was the star of the team when India beat England for the first time in a Test, with match figures of 10/70. She holds the record for the highest number of wickets in women’s ODIs (192).
Sushma Verma (24)
Wicketkeeper,
right-hand batswoman
Eight years ago, the Shimla-born Sushma Verma went to the trials for the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) unsure what to choose — bowling or batting. Eventually, she ended up going to the nets were the wicketkeepers were giving trials. She made it to the camp, and soon did well enough to get into the state senior team, and then captain it. Finally, in 2014, she made it to the national team. She’s impressed in her short career, mostly as wicketkeeper, for the opportunities to bat have been few and far between.
Ekta Bisht (31)
Left-arm spinner
World Cup 2017: 9 wickets in 6 matches,
best of 5/18
Debuted for India in 2011, becoming the first international cricketer from Uttarakhand. Has picked up 71 wickets in 46 ODIs. Her father retired as a havaldar from the Army and, to make ends meet, opened a tea stall in Almora and was thus able to support the dreams of his daughter.
Mansi Joshi (23)
Right-arm pace bowler
World Cup 2017: 2 wickets in 2 matches,
best of 2/9
The tall Roorkee-born pacer possesses an impressive action and a good outswinger, but she finds it difficult to get into the team because the preferred pace options are Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey. She’s played only two games in the World Cup, picking up two wickets. She plays for Haryana in domestic cricket and is one to watch out for in the future.
Veda Krishnamurthy (24)
Right-hand batswoman
World Cup 2017: 118 runs in five matches, best of 70
Veda, who comes from Kadur, a small town in Karnataka, moved to Bengaluru to pursue her cricketing ambition. Her father runs a cable operating business in Kadur, and he supported her as she earned a black belt in karate. At age 12, she saw an advertisement for cricket trials in Bengaluru, over 200km away, and begged her father to take her there. She debuted for India in 2011 as a teenager. Her strokeplay came to the fore in the must-win game against New Zealand, in which she blasted 70 off 45 balls.