
Smriti Mandhana becomes first Indian to score centuries in all formats of women's international cricket
Smriti Mandhana on Saturday scored her first ever T20I century and in the process, became the first Indian to have tons in all formats of women's cricket. Mandhana, who is standing in as India captain in their first T20I against England at Trent Bridge, got to the mark in just 51 balls. She was eventually dismissed on 112 off 62 balls, her innings punctuated by 15 fours and three sixes.
Mandhana earlier raised her half-century in 27 deliveries. She shared a 77-run opening stand with Shafali Verma which came in just 52 balls, which was followed by a 94-run stand for the second wicket with Harleen Deol in 45 balls. This is Mandhana's 14th international ton. She has 11 centuries in ODI cricket, which is a record for India, and two Test tons.
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Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
How Kuldeep Yadav prepped for England tour with Kevin Pietersen's advice and bowling-action tweaks
Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav had the England tour on his mind while playing for Delhi Capitals in IPL this season. As luck would have it, around him was the team mentor Kevin Pietersen, the one-time England captain and a batsman with a deep understanding of spin bowling. Kuldeep didn't let this opportunity go to waste. He sought his help and Pietersen obliged. The two would go through the entire England batting line-up, one batsman at a time, and assess their strength and weakness. Kuldeep would throw questions, Pietersen would answer them. At the end of the discussion the English batting great would also pass on a simple mantra to Kuldeep. 'Kevin Peterson was part of our team at DC. He gave me a lot of inputs for the England tour. He told me about fielding positions, pitches and the batsmen. We ran through their batting line up. He told me about the mindset needed in England,' Kuldeep told The Indian Express. 'Pietersen said that generally spinners come to England with a defensive mindset. They think that in England, fast bowlers will get wickets and they will be in a supporting role. He told me to take the field with an attacking mindset. If I get a game and bowl 15 to 20 overs, I have to always think about how to get the batsmen out.' It remains to be seen if the left-arm wrist spinner, a rare breed of bowler that batsmen aren't used to playing, gets into the playing XI at Edgbaston. India trail 0-1 in the series, and their most incisive bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, will in all likelihood miss the second Test. India desperately need wicket-takers. Kuldeep's new aggressive bowling approach, and his refined action and stellar performance in white-ball cricket makes him the obvious choice. But will the Indian team management, obsessed with batting deep, compromise on a batsman or all-rounder to include the proven wicket-taker? Locals say the pitch at Edgbaston slows down gradually. At Headingley on an unresponsive pitch; Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur struggled to make an impact. With pacers ineffective on the tour so far, will India take the spin punt by playing both Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep? The two contrastingly different left-armers, bowling in tandem, sounds promising for a team looking for a quick turnaround in the series. Kuldeep knows the importance of taking wickets. 'Apan ko kuch aata nahi hai bowling ke aalava (I don't know anything other than bowling). If you don't take wickets, you can't justify yourself for playing in England. If you don't take wickets, I don't think you deserve to play. But I know one thing, wherever one is playing, at home or in England. I have to get the revs on the ball and the drift and that will get me wickets.' Having secured a five-for when he last played against England, the final Test at Dharamshala when India won at home, Kuldeep comes to these shores with a reputation. 'The pitches in that series were batting-friendly. The Test matches went for 4-5 days. England conditions are different but as a spinner, I believe that it won't be that different. Besides, the way England bat, I think the spinners will be in the game,' says Kuldeep, subtly suggesting that he didn't take wickets on spin-friendly pitches in the last series and can get England's attacking Bazballers on true tracks this time around. Kuldeep's confidence comes from the adversities he has overcome over the last few years. Around 2021 when he underwent a knee surgery, it was suggested to him by the medical team that he needs to change his action. His slow run-up, his landing on the pitch and gradual pivot was putting a lot of pressure on his front leg. Kuldeep had been bowling with the same action since the time his coach in Kanpur, Kapil Pandey, convinced him to switch from pace to spin. A pre-teen Kuldeep wanted to be Wasim Akram. 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For starters, he would increase the speed of his run-up as that would help him to glide through his action quickly. Now, the planting and take-off of his front foot was quick, the knee was under less stress. 'But I wasn't sure about this new approach. After I returned home to Kanpur I would play a few league games. Instead of ambling I was now running to the crease. But with this fast approach, I was not getting balance. Then slowly, I changed the angle of my run-up. I started coming straighter. Coming in sideways, it was very difficult for me to get balance,' he said. He would ask his coach about the change and was told that as long as he got revs on the ball it was fine. 'Initially there were a number of problems. To flip your old action is very difficult. It took about a month and a half to get the rhythm. It would be there one day and not there the next. It took me 6 months to get the rhythm,' he says. Once he got the rhythm back, Kuldeep faced a new problem because of his fast and aggressive run-up. 'I need so much energy to bowl with the altered action, I couldn't bowl more than 4 to 5 overs. The run-up was fast and my approach was aggressive. Even 4 overs in T20 was difficult,' he says. That was the time he joined the Indian team with Rohit Sharma as captain. Rohit said he wanted him to bowl longer spells but with the same energy. 'Soham Desai (Team India's strength and conditioning coach) prepared me so that I started retaining my energy – I could give maximum effort for at least 6 overs,' he says. 'You must have heard a lot of times in the match, Rohit bhai would keep asking me – Thak raha hai kya (Hope you are not tired)? Now luckily I have started putting in long spells of 8-9 overs. I have also put in 10-12 overs in Tests. It took me 3 years to get that energy to bowl a long spell.' In case Kuldeep gets into the team for the Edgbaston game, this will be his first Test without Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin on the field. Kohli was the captain when Kuldeep made his Test debut, he was the one who presented him the cap. Rohit was the 'big brother' who understood him and even expressed his exasperation when he faltered. Ashwin, Kuldeep says, was his mentor and sounding board. Over the years, the two would have long conversations on the art of spin bowling, field placements and variations. 'Once Ashwin bhai had put an arm around my shoulder and told me 'you have to take this spin legacy forward',' says Kuldeep. For that he needs to get a game, starting with the Test in Edgbaston.


Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
AB de Villiers suggests that India use Jasprit Bumrah like Dale Steyn
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Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
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In his comeback series against Bangladesh, it took him some time to hit his stride, but in South Africa and then against England, he had the batters dancing to his tunes. With 14 wickets at home against England, he picked up his first Player of the Series award at the international level. This paved the way for his ODI debut in the series that followed, and he was subsequently drafted into India's Champions Trophy squad as a late addition. …read more Varun Chakaravarthy Ranking Batting 431 ODI 1228 T20 Bowling 84 ODI 3 T20 Varun Chakaravarthy Statistics Debut India vs England on Feb 09, 2025 Last India vs New Zealand on Mar 09, 2025 Debut India vs Sri Lanka on Jul 25, 2021 Last India vs England on Feb 02, 2025 Debut Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders on Mar 27, 2019 Last Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings on May 07, 2025 Varun Chakaravarthy Batting Records Highest Runs Balls Faced 0 On Date Feb 09, 25 Against ENG Varun Chakaravarthy Bowling Records Mat O W Avg S/R Eco 4 40 10 19.00 24.00 4.75 Wickets Taken 5 Runs 42 On Date Mar 02, 25 Against NZ Varun Chakaravarthy Batting Records Mat R 50s 100s Avg S/R 18 1 0 0 0.50 16.66 Highest Runs 1 Balls Faced 2 On Date Jan 28, 25 Against ENG Varun Chakaravarthy Bowling Records Mat O W Avg S/R Eco 18 68.3 33 14.57 12.45 7.02 Wickets Taken 5 Runs 17 On Date Nov 10, 24 Against SA Varun Chakaravarthy Fielding Records Catches Stumpings Run Outs 3 0 0 Mat: Matches, R: Runs, W: Wickets, O: Overs, S/R: Strike Rate, Eco: Economy Rate, Avg: Average Varun Chakaravarthy Batting Records Mat R 50s 100s Avg S/R 83 26 0 0 6.50 55.31 Highest Runs 10 Balls Faced 16 On Date Mar 30, 22 Against RCB Varun Chakaravarthy Bowling Records Mat O W Avg S/R Eco 83 311.4 100 23.31 18.70 7.47 Wickets Taken 5 Runs 20 On Date Oct 24, 20 Against DC Varun Chakaravarthy Fielding Records Catches Stumpings Run Outs 16 0 2 Mat: Matches, R: Runs, W: Wickets, O: Overs, S/R: Strike Rate, Eco: Economy Rate, Avg: Average