Isa Guha, the first female cricketer of South Asian origin to play for England, took 148 international wickets across formats in a nine-year career with her seam bowling. The World Cup winner is now one of the game’s pioneering female commentators. Excerpts from an interview Guha gave The Hindu at Lord’s:

You were a part of the England team that won the 2009 World Cup. In the final against New Zealand, you had provided the breakthrough, dismissing Kate Pulford.

It is incredible really that it has been 17 years already. I remember, back then, we were just the curtain-raiser to the men. Now women cricketers have a super huge stage all to themselves.

How do you look back at your cricket career?

With so much pride. There was not much for women’s cricket at that point of time, but I am absolutely fine with that. I went on this journey with this team. We were pretty average and we became the best team in the world in 2009. I will never forget that journey, with a group of people who did something incredible.

It is of course great to see that the women’s game has travelled quite a lot. I think India recognising how important women’s cricket is has been huge for the game. And that started long before the WPL started. Now the whole game recognises the importance of giving women’s cricket a platform. Because we know the bigger picture, that people’s attention spans are getting shorter. Sports are having to compete with each other.

Thankfully, sport is the one thing that people still watch live. It is a valuable asset. But to compete with other sports, you need everyone to feel included in it.

You are one of the pioneering women in commentary.

It all happened by accident. I have always had a curiosity to learn, though. But honestly, when I first started, I was awful. I think there weren’t a lot of women commentators around when I started.

I guess Melanie Jones was there…

She was doing a bit for Sky with women’s cricket. And I know that Rachael Heyhoe-Flint has done some. As has Clare Connor. But there weren’t a lot of us. So, I didn’t really think of it as a career at that time.

And I got the opportunity with the BBC, with Sky. I did some TV punditry in 2010. And a bit of radio commentary soon after. And then I got the big opportunity with ITV, to present the IPL. I had never done any sort of presenting, though, so that was an education.

And then India decided to bring me over for Sony. Then all of a sudden, I started to get more and more opportunities. I worked for Ten Sports in India, too.

I was asked to do the Caribbean Premier League, the men’s tournament. No woman had worked on men’s T20 cricket before. So that was a big opportunity. And that is where I learned a lot about commentary. Then obviously the IPL. Soon after, it was Australia.

When the Australian opportunity came about, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t know how they would receive me. Thankfully, it went really well. Then Fox wanted to hire me for their coverage. So I have my two jobs now, in Australia and the UK.

ALSO READ | Cricket’s summer of goodbyes

You are quite popular on Fox in Australia, especially when you pair up with Kerry O’Keeffe or Adam Gilchrist. You have a licence to speak a bit more freely in Australia than the UK perhaps?

Yes, that is true. Kerry and I had worked on the radio together. We had a great time. We just hit it off.

Other commentators you have enjoyed working with?

Shane Warne gave me a lot of encouragement. He would ask me about my opinion on the cricket. He genuinely respected my opinion. That is when I thought, OK, maybe I can do this. I actually love working with Phil Tufnell, too. He is a lot of fun.

There are lots of different skills you need for broadcast, right? A reporter is different from a commentator, who is a bit different from a presenter. And TV is different from the radio. In different countries, it’s different how you apply yourself. In India, you need to be a bit more bombastic. In England, you need to be a bit calmer.

I always wanted to be an all-rounded broadcaster. When I was a player, I wanted to be an all-rounder. And then as a broadcaster, you want to learn as much as possible so that you can be versatile. I always wanted to get good in cricket and then maybe cross over into other sports. I have been lucky to work at Wimbledon for five years now. I do love tennis. When I am at Wimbledon, it really is so magical being there. I played a bit of tennis when I was younger. Cricket is always going to be my home, though.

One of your best performances came in the 2008 Ashes Test at the Bradman Oval, Bowral, where you took nine wickets to bowl England to victory.

In the few games before, I hadn’t really been playing, so I was low in confidence. When I got to Bowral, I really wanted to play there. It had an aura about it. It felt quite special. The home of Don Bradman. Trees everywhere. White picket fence. I just really wanted to do well. I got an early wicket and then it just flowed.

Memories of playing in India?

Once I got to play at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which is where my family is from. But unfortunately, it was at a time that Sourav Ganguly was out of the Test side. And the fans basically were revolting. So no one turned up. Just my grandparents and my family. But it was still special for me.

You head a charitable organisation…

Yes, I founded Take Her Lead in 2022. Our purpose is to advance equity and diversity in cricket and increase participation for women and girls. We did a survey in 2022 with over a thousand women and girls, and the majority said they felt they didn’t belong in the sport. We have done a lot of work to try and change that. We have a mentoring program. We work with a lot of charity partners, like the MCC Foundation and Lord’s Taverners. Between the age of 10 and 15, girls drop out of sport 20% more than boys. We deliver mental and social skills to help them feel like they have the skills to be able to succeed in cricket.

We are also addressing the South Asian challenge. There have only been three of us that have played for England — me, Sonia [Odedra] and Mahika [Gaur]. There is only 11% representation from a South Asian background for girls at the entry-level pathway. That drops to 4% at professional level. So we are trying to address that. We partnered with the South Asian Cricket Academy.

With South Asians, there is always an unconscious bias that we are not mentally tough or we are not fit. I always tried to make sure that I was never dropped for those reasons. And I want to make sure that these girls are equipped with the tools to succeed.

Australia’s Beth Mooney in action at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Final England vs Australia at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, Britain – July 5, 2026
| Photo Credit: Action Images via Reuters

Australian opener Beth Mooney in action.
| Photo Credit: AFP

When Radha Yadav ran towards the chance offered by Beth Mooney at long-on, there was tension in the air at Lord’s. Under normal circumstances, you would expect Radha to take the catch with ease; she has taken much tougher, more spectacular ones all through her career. She is one of the best fielders in women’s cricket.

But at the Women’s T20 World Cup, she had been going through a terrible time. She was just failing to catch. It looked like she was incapable of even catching a cold. The 26-year-old did catch Mooney, though. And she was relieved and happy, she threw the ball down furiously.

The Women in Blue celebrated. They had posted what appeared to be a competitive total of 170 for four, thanks largely to skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s brilliant shot-making towards the end. But for her 27-ball 56, Australia would have finished off the match well ahead of schedule.

When Deepti Sharma accounted for Mooney, the Australian scorecard read 68 for three in 9.1 overs. Another 103 runs were still required in less than 11 overs. The Indian players, and the large crowd that came to cheer them on, had reasons to hope.

The one that took it away

Watching Mooney depart was her long-time teammate Ellyse Perry. She was joined by Ashleigh Gardner. Together, they ended India’s hopes of reaching the semifinals.

They forged what was one of the best partnerships you would come across at this level. There was still plenty of batting left for Australia — no team bats as deep as it — but they were determined to finish the job themselves. If one of them had been dismissed, India would have been back in the game. They did not get out until the match was decided. When Perry finally fell, skying a catch to Shafali Verma off the impressive Shree Charani, Australia needed just three to win.

Perry and Gardner showed yet again how crucial they are in a side filled with match-winners. This may be a team in transition, after the retirements of Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy, but it remains well ahead of main rivals like England and India, especially in the shortest format.

In the semifinal against the West Indies at the Oval on Wednesday, Perry had to go back to the dressing room after playing just seven balls, retired hurt. But it was just a precaution, Mooney would later clarify. Gardner had another starring role. She made an unbeaten 35 off 20 balls to help Australia finish the chase of a very modest total with seven overs to spare.

Back in the groove

She had been amongst the wickets, too. That is good news for Australia ahead of Sunday’s final at Lord’s. Gardner is glad to have got her bowling rhythm back.

“I feel like I probably haven’t had the impact that I would have liked, especially with the ball,” she said shortly after winning the Player-of-the-Match award in the last-four clash. “I’ve probably just been a little bit inconsistent. When Sophie (Molineux) has thrown me the ball, I probably haven’t played the role that she has probably wanted.”

But Gardner delivered against the West Indies, taking two for 13. “In this game, I had that type of performance, certainly when it mattered,” she said. “It is always really pleasing. I guess that it gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Shift in mindset

The 29-year-old said it was more of a mindset thing. “I feel like I just tried to make my game really simple. I focused on looking at the stumps when I was bowling. That sounds really silly, but when I was narrowing my focus, I could execute a little better. We knew that keeping the stumps in play for a long period of time, just with the variability in the bounce, really helped.”

Gardner felt that her performance against India was a morale-booster. “Cricket is a very humbling sport at times, but you try to ride that confidence to really utilise it,” she said. “Cricket is such a unique game where you can feel like you are hitting the ball well but then you make no runs. So I guess it is about trying to take out the positives that you can.”

Looking back at Australia’s convincing win over India, Gardner said she enjoyed the 100-run partnership with Perry. “That was one of the best partnerships I have been involved in. There are not too many other people within this unit that I have played so much cricket with. I have played with Perry for well over 10 years now, so we have a great understanding of each other’s game.”

Blindly trusting each other

Both had tremendous trust in each other. “We were really specific and deliberate in the way we were speaking in the middle,” she said. “Understanding each other and giving each other options out there… to have that is pretty cool.”

Perry relished that alliance just as much. “It was a really enjoyable partnership with Ash,” said the woman regarded by many as the greatest female cricketer of all time. “Having had the opportunity to watch the way the first innings played out, we knew that it was sort of possible to accelerate through the middle and back end.”

She was all praise for Gardner’s approach. “The way Ash came out was really important in the context of the game. I thought that she shifted the momentum beautifully. We spoke a lot about targeting the first couple of balls of an over, and she did that incredibly well. It just gave us some momentum in the chase. On a good ground, once you get that, you sort of put yourself in a good position. So, it was a lot of fun.”

Gardner was as effusive in the praise of Perry. “She is like red wine,” Gardner said. “She is someone who has gotten better and better. Just the evolution of her game.. she has known that the global game has gone at such a fast pace and that it doesn’t settle or slow down for anyone. So she knows that she needs to keep up with that pace.”

Gardner admires Perry’s bravery. “It can be quite hard at times when you feel like you don’t have that confidence, but she is someone who always tries to take the game on. For someone with so much experience and so much willingness to keep evolving, it just shows younger players like me that there is no real ceiling on that stuff. She is a fantastic leader within our group, within that space, and generally as well.”

Unique in their own way

While Perry is at the top of her game more often than not, she stressed that every tournament had its own challenges. “This one has been extremely enjoyable and the quality of cricket that has been played right across the competition… the response from the English public to watch the matches has been amazing, too,” she said. “The atmosphere at various grounds has been so cool to play at. Beating India was a real highlight.”

Perry described skipper Molineux as “unique”. “Every captain I play with is unique, but Soph brings a very unique style,” Perry said. “She is such a people’s person. She makes everyone laugh. She knows when to have fun, when to be serious.

“She makes sure that they are heard all the time and are valued for their contribution to the group. I hope that kind of comes across in the way we are playing because it’s been so much fun. It doesn’t guarantee you anything but when you are playing with that kind of enjoyment, it creates an opportunity for a team to do some really good things.”

The two brave women are now ready for the final. They will go into that match at Lord’s with impressive numbers.

Perry has 2,482 T20I runs and 131 wickets, while Gardner, who has played lesser games, has 1,630 runs and 84 wickets.

It is to be recalled that Australia hasn’t won an ICC event since 2023. “Not having any trophies in the cabinet has probably been frustrating over the last 18 months,” Gardner said.

“It is really pleasing that going forward we can take the confidence out of what we have done. Hopefully, we win another trophy on Sunday”.

The surname Tillakaratne carries considerable weight in Sri Lankan cricket. It evokes memories of Hashan Tillakaratne’s dependability, Tillakaratne Dilshan’s innovation, World Cup triumphs, and decades of service to the national side.

Now, another Tillakaratne is trying to earn that name on merit. Seventeen-year-old Limansa Tillakaratne, Dilshan’s daughter, is touring India with Sri Lanka’s Under-19 women’s side for three T20s and three One-Day fixtures, in preparation for the U-19 Women’s World Cup, which Bangladesh and Nepal will jointly host in early 2027.

ALSO READ: Limansa, daughter of Sri Lanka icon Tillakaratne Dilshan, carries his name and legacy with pride

She hopes to become the latest member of a cricketing lineage while carving out an identity that is distinctly her own.

It’s been a steep learning curve for the outfit in Chennai, with Limansa herself, a leg-spinner, proving expensive with the ball and registering three ducks in the middle order.

Sri Lanka gave a better account of itself in the second game, bringing the margin of defeat down from 93 runs in the first match to 11 in the second, with an improved effort in the field. Limansa even struck timber as she sent back the dangerous Ira Jadhav. India won the third fixture by seven wickets to take the series, with Sri Lanka’s batting weaknesses costing the side.

Catching the action

Following his daughter’s run carefully, about 600 kilometres away in Hyderabad, is her father, Dilshan, currently with TG20 franchise Khammam Aces for the inaugural edition of the league. Long distance defines this father-daughter relationship.

“When I started cricket, he was actually not in Australia (where the family moved to after his retirement in 2016). I think he was in India and I was playing locally, just for fun. I was bowling, and the ball was looping. I didn’t have a clue about cricket then.

“My mom (Lankan actor Manjula Thilini) said if I enjoyed it, I should keep at it, and she’d send video clips of me playing. One day, he saw something he liked and thought there was talent there work with. That’s how I started playing,” Limmy, as she is fondly called, told The Hindu after her game at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Memories of those early videos draw out a chuckle from Dilshan.

“Limmy began playing at home in the garden. She’d normally hit tennis balls. I didn’t take it so seriously then. I wanted my son to play. After my retirement in 2016, we moved to Australia as a family. I continued playing Legends League and was travelling and my wife would tell me about Limmy’s thing with cricket. She was very keen. During break time in school, she’d play with the boys. One of the teachers picked up on that and took her and my wife to a local club where she signed up and started training. My wife then sent me the videos,” Dilshan told this publication.

“I still have those early videos and still have a good laugh when I revisit them. She bowled all the wrong lengths, used the wrong arm. The ball would bounce thrice. But she was so keen. She’d wake up early to watch matches regardless of her schedule. It was evident she wanted to do something in the game. So, we decided to work hard on that for one year. Every day, two to three hours after school, we worked on her game,” the 49-year-old added.

The youngest

The results then trickled in. In 2021, Limmy, aged 12, became the youngest female cricketer to play at the premier level when she made the U-16 squad for Cricket Victoria.

She then broke into the U-19 Victoria side and played regularly for Melbourne Cricket Club. Dilshan even fondly remembers a century she scored for Victoria. But then, the family patriarch threw his eldest a googly.

“We decided to take her to Sri Lanka. I took her to my club, Bloomfield (Cricket and Athletic Club) in Colombo. We spent time working on her bowling. We tried her out in the U-19 provincial side, where she did really well. Selectors then wanted to pick her, and she made the team for the inaugural U-19 Asia Cup in 2024 and the U19 World Cup in Malaysia last year,” he remembered.

Sri Lanka made the Super Six stage of the World Cup but couldn’t progress to the knockouts, finishing fifth in the final standings. But one memory stands out.

“Sri Lanka beat Australia in the Super Six match, and Limmy won the Player-of-the-Match Award,” Dilshan exclaimed, the irony not lost on him. She took a wicket, giving away just 18 runs in her four overs. She also took two catches and effected a run out in that low-scoring fixture where Sri Lanka defended a paltry 99/8 with a 12-run win.

She eventually finished that tournament with seven wickets, the second-highest wicket-taker for her side behind left-arm spinner Chamodi Praboda’s nine scalps.

Obvious choice

For a young bowler, leg-spin isn’t an obvious choice of speciality.

“She always bowled the googly, and it came naturally for her,” Dilshan, a handy offie himself, explained.

“I thought, developing it into leg-spin would be more advantageous for her, and for any side she might be a part of. It took us a year,” he added, saying small but smart interventions as a coach are needed early on in a player’s trajectory to maximise their success as a cricketer.

“In my bowling, I’m trying to work on my speed. I am trying to bowl flatter and get the ball to turn more,” Limmy explained.

With Dilshan as coach, the conversation turned to batting soon enough. She started lower down the order but soon began opening for her side and then moved into the middle order, especially in 50-over games. Ask her about what tricks her dad has shared with her in the nets, and she asks, “You’re talking about the Dilscoop, right?”

“We’ve been practising it. I practised it first with my dad, and I tried a few in the nets, and it came out really well. I’m just waiting for the right ball in the middle to play it,” she added cheekily.

Country first

Cricketing migrations to Australia are the norm, not away from it. For the women’s game, Australian systems have been the holy grail, led by a senior women’s side that is head and shoulders above its competition. But for Dilshan, that Sri Lankan crest he had worn on his chest for nearly two decades meant more.

“As a Sri Lankan captain, I’m happy for my daughter to play for Sri Lanka. Yes, we live in Australia. Every facility is there. The pathways are very good, and there is no difference between boys and girls. But as a Sri Lankan, I do want her to play for Sri Lanka,” Dilshan stated.

His wife was unsure about the move. But Limmy immediately got on board.

“I remember the first day she had a trial. We landed in Colombo at 11.30 or 12 o’clock at night. It was 2 am by the time we got home. She had a game the next morning. She played, took four wickets, and scored fifty-odd. On the way back home, she threw up while on the road. The time difference and the strain of it were a bit much. But she was ready. She always delivers what I ask of her. There’s no complaining or saying she’s tired,” Dilshan proudly declared.

When performances didn’t go her way, Dilshan and Limmy were out late to hit the nets.

“Even if she’s come back late from a game, if she hasn’t performed well, she’ll say, ‘ Thaathi (Sinhalese term for father), let’s go to the nets.’ That could be at 10 pm. I would have to book indoor nets, and we’d go and train for an hour.

“You can see the change in where her mum is now. She was unsure before, but she’s so happy with how Limmy has come along,” he added.

For Limmy, it is also an opportunity to carry on her father’s legacy.

“I’m actually really proud to be his daughter and to start a career, not because of him, but inspired by him really, and I’m really happy that I have this figure behind me, supporting me and always there for me whenever I need him.”

Try and be better than me

When she made the national U-19 side, Limmy distinctly remembers Dilshan saying, “You’re following in my footsteps. You have to be better than me. Try and be better than me!”

A day after The Hindu caught up with Limmy, Dilshan looks at her laughing on video as she brushes off the pressure those lines come with and can’t help but smile.

“She’s totally different from me. She’s a leg spinner, I’m an off spinner. I’m right-handed, she’s left-handed. My only message to her has always been that she needs to be a good cricketer in all three departments. When she started playing, she was a very poor fielder. As her father and one of the best fielders in the world, I was a bit disappointed when she would drop catches. We set a target for that too. I heard she was good in one of these games and put in some good stops in the field.”

For Limmy, Thaathi is the north star. Coaches at different levels may give her countless tips, but nothing happens without her father hearing about it and giving his thoughts on its validity. That means the cricketer and coach in Dilshan is always on, but it’s a relationship bedrock he has come to savour.

“I am quite happy that Limansa listens to me. Even when coaches try to change something, she will bring it to me first. I always encourage trying everything. If it doesn’t work, go back to your basics!”

Huge relief

As a father, seeing systems emerge for his daughter to discover her cricketing sensibilities within is a huge relief for Dilshan.

What Limmy can only learn from someone like her father, which is perhaps most important, is managing expectations.

“I’ve told her that sometimes she might get dropped, even if her performances are okay. It’s happened to me too. In 2008, I was benched. I went back to domestic cricket, scored heavily, and won games, but still didn’t get highlighted enough to make it back. I was batting at No.6 or 7. I then pitched myself as an opener to the management. I knew Sanath (Jayasuriya) was retiring in the 2009 season, and that space was there to take. I went back to the domestic scene and scored heavily, batting till the 25th and 26th over.”

“In 2008-09, I got an opportunity to play as an opener, that too in the squad, not the eleven, when we toured Pakistan (now infamous for the attack on the Lankan player bus in Lahore). I piled up runs, got 140-odd, and even won Player of the Series. But I got that chance because Upul Tharanga pulled something just before the toss in the opening game. That opening slot was mine thereafter till I retired. I took risks, but they worked. I always tell Limmy that sometimes, as cricketers, we have to take risks. She knows disappointments, drops will come and understands they are part of the package.”

In the middle of a crucial school year, the Tillakaratne household has allowed her to put schoolwork on hold as she prepares to make the team for the U-19 World Cup once more.

Assignments are being sent from wherever she’s playing in the meantime. The big questions are a headache for after January and Limmy is happy to just focus on being on a cricket field full-time.

Australia earned a third straight convincing win at the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup when it beat the Netherlands by 98 runs.

Australia reached 200 in the World Cup for the first time and equalled the highest ever tournament total, 219-6. The Netherlands was kept to 121-3 at the Rose Bowl.

Like Australia, England was three for three after easily containing Scotland by 38 runs in Leeds in front of 11,419 people, an attendance record for a women’s match at Headingley.

Bangladesh eliminated Pakistan by 23 runs with two great comebacks to stay in the hunt for a first semifinal.

Mooney retires hurt but OK

Opening batter Beth Mooney gave Australia a scare when she retired on 74 off 42 balls with a stiff back. But she said afterward she was fine.

“I’m all good, just precautionary,” Mooney said. “Probably just not used to all the bus travel we’ve been doing.” Mooney shared 50 runs off 28 balls for the opening wicket with Georgia Voll (17) and 101 off 55 with Ash Gardner (58), who returned from an ankle sprain.

Georgia Wareham swept Australia past 200 with 41 off 18 including 32 runs from boundaries.

With Mooney sidelined, Australia didn’t have a backup wicketkeeper. The usual alternative, Phoebe Litchfield, was out with a quad issue. The gloves were given to Voll and she was tidy, taking a catch in the second over as pacer Kim Garth took 2-10 in her first two overs.

The Netherlands, appearing in its first World Cup, was never going to chase down a 220 target but captain Babette de Leede and Sterre Kalis combined for 96 from 91 balls from the fourth over to the 19th.

Kalis, dropped on 21 and 40, was bowled for 44 and captain de Leede, 56 not out off 57 balls, finished the match with Robine Rijke, both of whom were playing their 100th T20s.

“This is a massive moment for us,” de Leede said. “Australia are a quality team (so) to learn from them, see how they go about their innings, it’s just incredible.”

Dunkley stars for England on recall

England started without injured captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, gave the armband to Charlie Dean and the No. 3 batting spot to Sophia Dunkley, who was the player of the match.

“It was great to be back in,” Dunkley said. “That’s tournament cricket, coming in and out of the team, but you know that all 15 (squad players) are going to be important at some point.”

Dunkley helped England recover from losing both openers early to spinner Kirstie Gordon, who represented England at the 2018 World Cup. Dunkley was dropped three times, twice in two balls off Gordon, before she was out caught in the deep on 57 off 37 balls.

Other misfields by Scotland conceded four boundaries.

Freya Kemp (39 off 16) and Dani Gibson (30 off 11) smoked 59 runs from the last three overs to give England an above-par total of 200-5. It’s only the fifth 200-plus total in World Cup history and England has three of them.

Scotland’s chase died at 162-7 but it was matching England early on.

When Sophie Ecclestone bowled Kathryn Bryce — collecting his 150th T20 wicket — and Darcey Carter on 29, Scotland hopes faded. Those hopes were gone when Sarah Bryce was out for 34 off 24 in the 14th over. Five England bowlers shared wickets.

Bangladesh collapse Pakistan

Bangladesh recovered from 13-3 to post 123-6 and limited Pakistan to 100-8.

Pakistan has also lost to India and South Africa while Bangladesh has also beaten the Netherlands.

Bangladesh chose to bat first but was quickly 13-3. Captain Nigar Sultana held the innings together through the middle overs against the miserly bowling of Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal and opposite skipper Fatima Sana.

But then Bangladesh plundered 43 off the last four overs with a big finish by Shorna Akter; 39 runs off 22 balls.

Pakistan’s chase of 124 started comfortably with openers Muneeba Ali and Gull Feroza combining for 49. After they were prised out, the turning point came in the 12th over when slow left-armer Sanjida Akter Meghla took two wickets to reduce Pakistan to 70-4.

Those setbacks tumbled Pakistan off its run-a-ball pace and it never recovered. Pakistan scored only 30 more runs in eight overs, tied down by the spin of Akter Meghla, Rabeya Khan and Nahida Akter.

Published – June 21, 2026 10:26 am IST

Mumbai Indians’ captain Harmanpreet Kaur. File Photo: BCCI via PTI Photo

West Indies, led by Hayley Matthews, will face New Zealand in the second semifinal of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Sharjah on October 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Eight years ago, West Indies beat New Zealand by just six runs in the second semifinal of the 2016 T20 World Cup. They went on to beat Australia in the summit clash for its maiden world T20 title. Come Friday, the Windies will hope the pattern repeats itself when they take on the Kiwis in the second semifinal of the ongoing edition of the tournament in Sharjah.

After a 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of South Africa, the Windies resurrected their campaign with wins in their other group fixtures against Bangladesh, Scotland and England.

New Zealand’s campaign — three wins in four games with the sole loss coming against Australia — might look comfortable when it was anything but. Comfortable margins hide multiple tales of stuttering from the White Ferns.

This is why West Indies enters this clash with an advantage over New Zealand despite being on the unfavourable end of a lopsided head-to-head record. In 24 meetings, the White Ferns have only lost five and won 15.

On the spin-friendly tracks here, expect Amelie Kerr – who tops the bowling charts alongside SA’s Nonkululeko Mlaba – to thrive. The Kiwis could bring back the right-arm off spin of Leigh Kasperek.

In the 20 wickets claimed in the group stage by the Windies, 17 have fallen to spin and so the Women in Maroon will bank heavily on their tweakers — Hayley Matthews, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack and Zaida James.

Hemalatha smashed five fours and two sixes in her unbeaten knock.
| Photo Credit: X/@BCBtigers

Radha Yadav and Dayalan Hemalatha produced an all-round show as a dominant India beat Bangladesh by 19 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method in a rain-marred second women’s T20 International in Sylhet on Tuesday.

Led by left-arm spinner Radha’s splendid show, Indian bowlers bundled out Bangladesh for 119 after the hosts opted to bat first.

Radha finished with excellent figures of 3/19, while there were two wickets apiece for Deepti Sharma (2/14) and Shreyanka Patil (2/24).

For Bangladesh, opener Murshida Khatun top-scored with 46 off 49 balls.

Chasing a modest total, India lost an early wicket as Shafali Verma (0) was caught down the leg side after she tried to flick it through fine leg.

Hemalatha, however, blazed away to a 24-ball 41 as India raced to 47 for one in 5.2 overs, when the heaven opened up for the second time during the match. Hemalatha smashed five fours and two sixes in her unbeaten knock.

The par score was 28 and the Indian team was ahead by 19 runs, and with the surface rendered unplayable by the heavy rain, the visitors were declared winners.

India thus took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Earlier, Dilara Akter got the Bangladesh innings underway when she pulled Renuka Singh, the star of the five-match series opener, over mid-wicket for a four in only the second ball of the match.

Akter got into a good position and whipped off her pads a swinging Renuka delivery over backward square leg for a boundary.

An 11-run first over was followed by the wicket of Akter as experienced spinner Deepti Sharma struck with one that was drifting in, which prompted the batter to go for a sweep but she could not get the elevation and ended up giving a catch to Renuka in the deep.

Renuka conceded another boundary when Murshida Khatun came down the track to smash her over mid-off.

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur then made a mess of a straightforward chance off Renuka after getting both her hands to it, giving Murshida reprieve on 6 after the batter mistimed her shot.

One-down bat Sobhana Mostary opened her account with a boundary as she drove a Renuka delivery past backward point.

Renuka, meanwhile, was proving to be quite wayward on this day as he conceded another wide.

Deepti continued to bowl economically and gave away only three runs in her next over before Harmanpreet replaced a profligate Renuka with medium pacer Pooja Vastrakar. Mostary greeted Vastrakar with two fours, including a lovely cover drive.

There was a bowling change at the other end too, and off-spinner Shreyanka Patil struck in her very first over, having Mostary (19 off 15 balls) trapped in front of the wicket after a promising start by the batter.

Brought into the attack for the first time in the eighth over, left-arm spinner Radha started on a bright note before removing Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana and Fahima Khatun off successive balls.

Radha, however, could not complete a hat-trick as Sultana Khatun struck her for a boundary.

Deepti bowled Ritu Moni for her second wicket, while Radha completed an excellent outing with the ball by having Rabeya Khan stumped.