Radha Yadav has a new favourite. It is her teammate.

She is all praise for the fellow practitioner of left-arm spin, Shree Charani, the new World No. T20I bowler and leading wicket-taker at the World Cup. “I have learnt so much from her,” said Radha, who took three wickets to help India score a must-win against Bangladesh at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday (June 25, 2026). “I see her in the nets, she does everything quietly and nails it in each session.”

Radha said people did not realise the hard work Shree Charani puts in. “I have seen her keep doing the same thing and have learnt it from her,” she said. “She keeps it simple, and doesn’t care about anything.”

The Bangladesh match was Radha’s first at this World Cup. But she had come in as a substitute for the game against South Africa here. And it was a nightmare for her: she dropped three catches.

She dropped another early in the match against Bangladesh, too. Mind you, she is one of the best fielders in the world.

She admitted it was a bad day for her. “I don’t have to say much about my fielding,” she said. “I have done well in the past, so I have nothing to worry about.”

She wasn’t the only Indian who struggled with fielding, though. She assured the team was working hard on it.

“Fielding is something we do with great enthusiasm,” she said. “You might have seen how our fielding sessions go. You would see we don’t drop a single catch in it. Fielding is something we have worked on for two or three years. It is not really an excuse but it was a bit difficult because of the sun.”

She said after the defeat to South Africa, the team had a huddle and everyone motivated each other. “So we just asked each other to keep smiling,” Radha said. “We all are doing our work and one can’t do more than that. There is only one thing you can do: help each other, keep each other’s spirits up, keep each other calm.”

They need that more than ever. Their next must win is against the mighty Aussies at Lord’s on Sunday (June 28).

They dropped catches, but not points.

The Women in Blue may have another forgettable day when it came to fielding, but they scored a badly-needed, though very much expected, victory at Old Trafford here on a sweltering Thursday afternoon. The five-wicket victory against Bangladesh, with 3.1 overs to spare, has kept their hopes alive in the Women’s T20 World Cup.

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After restricting their eastern neighbour to 136 for eight, they had looked like cruising sooner though. But there was a bit of a wobble in the middle-order again, after a superb fifty from Shafali Verma.

With the Indian score at 98 for four — from 94 for two — the Bangladesh women may have sensed an opportunity for a big upset, but Jemimah Rodrigues (26, 15b, 3×4, 1×6) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (13 n.o., 14b) made it sure that India would cross the line, though not as fast as they would have wanted to.

The way Shafali, who bowled India’s first over yet again, came up with her confident strokes, it was clear that India was determined to improve its net run-rate, which could indeed come into play later. She put on 31 for the first wicket with Smriti Mandhana, who played straight to Rabeya Khan at covers off Marufa Akter.

Shafali was cross with herself and even hit her helmet with her gloved hand after she was stumped off Nahida Akter. Yastika Bhatia was shaping up well until she miscued and was caught at covers off Ritu Moni.

India, nevertheless, got home comfortably enough in the end.

With Australia virtually assured of a place in the semifinals from Group A, it was imperative that the Indians left that disappointing defeat to South Africa behind on this very ground three days ago. They now have six points, two behind the formidable Aussies.

The two teams will come face to face at Lord’s at the weekend. South Africa is still slightly better placed than India when it comes to that race for the spot in the last four. The Proteas have easier opponents in their last two matches.

Earlier, the Indians restricted Bangladesh to that modest despite putting down catches, as they continued from where they left off in the South Africa match. And the ball continued to chase Radha Yadav, who had dropped two in that game.

She put down opener Juairiya Ferdous off the bowling of Renuka Singh, who was playing her first match of the tournament. And the fact is Radha is one of the best fielders in the game.

Juairiya went on to be the top-scorer for Bangladesh with 33 (31b, 5×4). Skipper Nigar Sultana (32, 27b, 4×4) and Sobhana Mostary (22) were the only others that lasted for a while, but the innings never really threatened to take off.

Radha made up for her dropped catch with three wickets. The other left-arm spinner, Shree Charani, did what was expected of her. Yet another impressive spell gave her two wickets. She has now 12 wickets, more than anybody else at this World Cup.