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Disguised Boy To Girl Wonder: India apos;s Verma Eyes World Cup Glory

2020-06-24T23:11:18Z

GeorgianaJpd:

Teenage India cricket sensation Shafali Verma stands in front of a picture of her idol Sachin Tendulkar in Rohtak Shafali Verma once disguised herself as her brother to play cricket, and went on to win "man of the match and series". Now the teen sensation wants to help India win the women's Twenty20 World Cup. Verma, who turned 16 on Tuesday, made her India debut last year in a Twenty20 against South Africa but turning up in her elder brother Sahil's jersey is her most cherished memory. "I told my father that I will go and play disguised as my brother (who was sick) and even had his name on my back," Verma told AFP. "I played and became man of the match and series. "Organisers complained to my dad that you made your daughter play instead of your son and he replied that 'you were lucky, if my daughter can hit so hard, imagine what my boy would have done'." Verma, an attacking opener, is now in Australia for a Twenty20 tri-series warm-up for next month's World Cup -- a trophy that has eluded India's women. But the prodigy's ambitions were almost ended by the lack of opportunities for aspiring female players where she grew up. World ambition: Shafali Verma, 16, wants to help India win next month's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia When she was nine, she decided to cut her hair short to play with the boys in her home town, Rohtak. Her cricket-obsessed father went along with the plan. "Whenever I went out to play, [https://allinfootballncricket.blogspot.com/2020/06/sachin-tendulkar-bowling-record.html allinfootballncricket.blogspot.com] boys would not take a small girl in their team, fearing I would get hurt," she said. "After cutting my hair I went to play with the boys and they did not even realise that I am a girl. But they got it after a few days and felt happy." - Torn gloves, broken bat - Verma grew up in conservative northern Haryana state, where women are not encouraged to play sport. But she shared her father's mad passion for cricket and India legend Sachin Tendulkar. A visit by her idol to Lahli village near Rohtak for his final domestic Ranji Trophy match in 2013 inspired her. "That motivated me and I became serious for cricket and began to work hard to emulate my idol," Verma said as she sat in the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Lahli. But Verma found there was only one academy for girls in the region despite the sport's overwhelming popularity in India. But her prodigious talent was spotted by coaches and she was picked to play in the boys' team. There were also struggles off the field, after her father Sanjeev was conned out of all his family's money to a imposter who had promised him a job. Breaking down in tears, Sanjeev told AFP in his humble one-room house where he runs a small jewellery repair shop, that they became so poor Verma played with torn gloves and a broken bat for several months. Batting prodigy: Shafali Verma hones her skills at net practice in Rohtak The setbacks only made Verma work harder. Backed by her father, who also dreamt of being a professional cricketer, she established herself in state cricket. "My father has been a huge pillar of support. I wouldn't have been here had it been because of his efforts. He made me practise hard," Verma said. - 'Next superstar' - Last year she was picked for the Velocity team in the women's T20 Challenge, which was played alongside the men's lucrative Indian Premier League, and walked onto the field with women's cricket great Mithali Raj. She shared the dressing room with international stars including England's World Cup-winning all-rounder Danielle Wyatt, who called her the next "superstar" of Indian cricket. Verma made her India Twenty20 debut in September and became the youngest Indian to score an international half-century in her fifth outing against the West Indies -- surpassing a 30-year-old record held by Tendulkar, who was 16 when he made his maiden Test fifty. Shafali Verma, then 15 years old, warms up last year with the India team in Surat, ahead of a Twenty20 match against South Africa Her proud father -- who kept the torn gloves and broken bat as a reminder of the hardships they went through -- is confident her fearless approach will encourage others including her seven-year-old sister Nancy, who bats left-handed. "(Shafali) will take women's cricket to greater heights and get India the women's World Cup -- T20 and ODI," Sanjeev said as he watched Nancy practising her batting in the house's small verandah, which doubles up as a makeshift cricket pitch.

Deflated India Find Optimism In Melbourne Heartbreak

2020-06-24T18:18:05Z

GeorgianaJpd:

NEW DELHI, March 9 (Reuters) - The crushing defeat in Sunday's final against Australia will haunt Harmanpreet Kaur and her team for a while but India hope the experience will only make them better before the next Women's Twenty20 World Cup in 2022. India finished the group stage as the tournament's only unbeaten team and progressed to the final after their semi-finals against England [https://allinfootballncricket.blogspot.com/2020/06/sachin-tendulkar-bowling-record.html https://allinfootballncricket.blogspot.com/2020/06/sachin-tendulkar-bowling-record.html] was washed out. The expectations were naturally high, especially since India had beaten the hosts in the tournament opener, but Australia thrashed them by 85 runs to lift their fifth title. The cricket-mad country reacted with maturity to the setback and support poured in for Kaur's team, which included several teenagers. "It was a tough day for #TeamIndia. Our team is young and will grow into a solid unit," batting great Sachin Tendulkar tweeted. "You have inspired many across the globe. We are proud of you. Keep working hard and never lose hope. It will happen one day," he added. Encouragement also came from men's team captain Virat Kohli, who endured similar heartbreak in last year's 50-overs World Cup, where India topped the group stage but lost in the semi-finals against New Zealand. "Proud of all the efforts put in by the Indian Women's Cricket Team throughout their #T20WorldCup campaign. I'm confident that you girls will bounce back stronger than ever," tweeted Kohli. Opener Shafali Verma had set alight the group stage with her batting pyrotechnics but endured a nightmare on Sunday when she manage two, having dropped player-of-the-match Alyssa Healy earlier in the match. The 16-year-old was in tears after the defeat and was consoled by senior team mates. "I told her she had to be really proud of the kind of campaign she´d had," opening partner Smriti Mandhana said. "This is a time to introspect. Failure teaches you a lot more than success. The team needs to be left alone and think of how we can be better in the next few years." Both Mandhana and skipper Kaur were woefully out of form in the tournament while India's fielding was below-par in the final. "We didn´t field well...When you are playing a great level of cricket, you cannot drop the chances and we were not up to the mark," Kaur said. "We will take this seriously and when we come to play next time, we will be one of the best fielding sides." (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Michael Perry)

TOP SPIN ON THE TEST: Ben Stokes Joins An Illustrious List Of Legends

2020-06-24T07:19:10Z

GeorgianaJpd: Created page with "England took full control of the third Test against [/news/south_africa/index.html South Africa] on Friday after Ollie Pope's maiden ton, another century from Ben Stokes, [ht..."

England took full control of the third Test against [/news/south_africa/index.html South Africa] on Friday after Ollie Pope's maiden ton, another century from Ben Stokes, [https://allinfootballncricket.blogspot.com/2020/06/sachin-tendulkar-bowling-record.html https://allinfootballncricket.blogspot.com/2020/06/sachin-tendulkar-bowling-record.html] saw them dominate day two. Joe Root's side declared on 499 for nine before Dom Bess took two late wickets to leave the hosts reeling on 60 for two. Sportsmail look at some of the numbers behind the second day at Port Elizabeth... Ben Stokes became the seventh player to hit 4,000 runs and take 100 wickets in Tests - after Garry Sobers, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Carl Hooper, Jacques Kallis and Daniel Vettori. Ben Stokes became the seventh player to hit 4,000 runs and take 100 wickets in Tests RELATED ARTICLES [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next] [/sport/cricket/article-7899835/Pope-achieves-maiden-Test-century-England-dominate-second-day-leave-South-Africa-chasing-439.html Land of Pope and Glory: Youngster Ollie hints at future...] [/sport/cricket/article-7900539/Kagiso-Rabadas-outburst-raw-emotion-dont-want-cricket-played-22-robots.html NASSER HUSSAIN: Kagiso Rabada's outburst was raw emotion,...] [/sport/cricket/article-7898555/South-Africas-Kagiso-Rabada-BANNED-fourth-Test-celebration-getting-Joe-Root-out.html Over-the-top, or just pure passion? South Africa's leading...] [/sport/cricket/article-7899061/Hussain-slams-decision-ban-Kasigo-Rabada-Holding-says-making-mistake.html 'Let's have 11 robots out there!': Nasser Hussain slams...] Share this article Share Stokes' 1,060 Test runs since the start of 2019 are the second most of any player, behind only Australia's Marnus Labuschagne (1,340). With ball in hand, only 11 players can best the England man's 25 wickets in that time. Mark Wood's five sixes are the most ever by an England No 10 or No 11, and more than Sachin Tendulkar (four), Don Bradman, Steve Smith or Virat Kohli (all two) have hit in a single Test innings. Mark Wood's five sixes are the most ever by an England No 10 or No 11 in an innings Keshav Maharaj figures of five for 180 represent South Africa's most expensive Test five-for, while no Protea has ever conceded more runs in a single innings in a home Test. RELATED ARTICLES [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next] [/sport/cricket/article-7899835/Pope-achieves-maiden-Test-century-England-dominate-second-day-leave-South-Africa-chasing-439.html Land of Pope and Glory: Youngster Ollie hints at future...] [/sport/cricket/article-7900539/Kagiso-Rabadas-outburst-raw-emotion-dont-want-cricket-played-22-robots.html NASSER HUSSAIN: Kagiso Rabada's outburst was raw emotion,...] [/sport/cricket/article-7898555/South-Africas-Kagiso-Rabada-BANNED-fourth-Test-celebration-getting-Joe-Root-out.html Over-the-top, or just pure passion? South Africa's leading...] [/sport/cricket/article-7899061/Hussain-slams-decision-ban-Kasigo-Rabada-Holding-says-making-mistake.html 'Let's have 11 robots out there!': Nasser Hussain slams...] Share this article Share

Pride Of India: Women apos;s Cricketers Hailed For T20 Campaign

2020-06-24T04:48:47Z

GeorgianaJpd: Created page with "India reached the final for the first time at the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia India has rallied behind its women's cricket team, hailing their efforts in the T20..."

India reached the final for the first time at the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia India has rallied behind its women's cricket team, hailing their efforts in the T20 World Cup despite a crushing loss to Australia in the final. Harmanpreet Kaur's side lost to the defending champions by 85 runs in front of more than 86,000 fans -- a record attendance for women's cricket -- at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday. Despite the defeat it was a successful World Cup for the team, who reached the final for the first time and whose star batter, 16-year-old Shafali Verma, moved to the top of the world rankings during the tournament. Indian cricket chief Sourav Ganguly praised the women for making the final, a month after the men's under-19s were runners-up in the 50-over World Cup. "Well done the Women's team @bcci @JayShah .. Two back to back World Cup finals .. but we lost," Ganguly tweeted. "We're super .. we will get there someday .. love the team and players." Men's captain Virat Kohli said he was "proud" of the women, who went into the final unbeaten and had outplayed Australia in the opening game of the tournament. "Proud of all the efforts put in by the Indian Women's Cricket Team throughout their #T20WorldCup campaign. I'm confident that you girls will bounce back stronger than ever," Kohli tweeted. Nothing went right on Sunday for [https://allinfootballncricket.blogspot.com/2020/06/sachin-tendulkar-bowling-record.html https://allinfootballncricket.blogspot.com/2020/06/sachin-tendulkar-bowling-record.html] India, who lost the toss and then watched as Verma dropped Alyssa Healy in the first over. Healy went on to smash 75 off 39 balls to get the player of the match award. Australia marched to a record fifth women's T20 World Cup title after posting 184 for four. India were sent packing for just 99 in reply. "It was a tough day for #TeamIndia. Our team is young and will grow into a solid unit. You have inspired many across the globe," retired batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar wrote on Twitter. "We are proud of you. Keep working hard and never lose hope. It will happen one day." A teary-eyed Verma was consoled by her team-mates as she left the field. Kaur said the young team had a bright future. "In the last T20 World Cup we reached the semis and this year in the finals. If we keep working and improving then in the future we will win," said Kaur. "You see our team is quite young. Young girls are coming and giving a 100 percent for the team. And I think this (making the finals) will motivate many girls back home and they will come and play cricket."

User:GeorgianaJpd

2020-06-24T04:48:45Z

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