The schedule for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup to be held in South Africa has been announced. The historical event will showcase the future stars of the game with 16 teams traveling to the Rainbow Nation to compete in 41 matches from 14 to 29 January 2023 in Benoni and Potchefstroom.

The 16 participating teams which also include the very best U19 female players in the world comprise 11 Full ICC Members and five Associates. The four groups are as follows:

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Group A:
Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the United States of America (USA).

Group B:
England, Pakistan, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe.

Group C:
Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, and West Indies.

Group D:
India, Scotland, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Rwanda joins fellow newcomers Indonesia, as first-time ICC World Cup participants at any level. The former beat out Tanzania by six wickets on Monday to secure their place in the event which promises to see even more dazzling performances as it progresses.

Scotland, the UAE, and the USA were the three remaining teams that qualified for the World Cup through the regional qualification pathway, detailed here.

The 41-match World Cup schedule will begin on 14 January with Australia taking on Bangladesh. Meanwhile, it will be followed by the hosts, South Africa, going head-to-head against India at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. Then at Willowmoore Park B Oval, the UAE will go up against Scotland, followed by Sri Lanka and the USA. 

The top three teams will progress to the Super Six League where the teams from Group A play against two of the teams from Group D, while the same will take place between Group B and Group C. 

"We are delighted that South Africa will be hosting this event," says Chris Tetley

"The ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup is the ultimate finishing school for future female stars of our game and to have 16 teams heading to South Africa for the inaugural event is incredibly exciting for the development of women's cricket which is a strategic priority for the ICC. 

ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley said

"We are looking forward to seeing the kind of success stories emerge from this event that we have enjoyed in the Men's U19s over the years and it's fantastic to welcome ICC event debutants Indonesia and Rwanda to the world stage and are delighted that South Africa will be hosting this event as well as the senior ICC Women's T20 World Cup shortly thereafter and we wish all the teams the very best in their preparations for the tournament and to Cricket South Africa in organizing the event."

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There will be 16 warm-up matches taking place between 9 and 11 January in the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane.

The semi-finals will be played on 27 January, at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. However, the final will take place at the same location on 29 January.  

A stand at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata will soon be named after India's legendary fast bowler Jhulan Goswami. 

According to ICC, the Block B Gallery of Eden Gardens will be renamed in her honor. This stand will be inaugurated during the Indian women's team's first T20I match against England on January 22 next year.

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Stands have also been built at Eden Gardens in the names of former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, former Indian cricketer Pankaj Roy, and former BCCI presidents Jagmohan Dalmiya and Biswanath Dutt.

Highest wicket-taker in women's ODI

Jhulan Goswami retired two years ago after an illustrious 20-year career with the Indian women's team. She was considered one of the best fast bowlers in women's cricket. Her career is still reflected in the impressive record that she maintains even after her retirement. Goswami holds the record for taking the highest number of wickets (255) in women's ODI.

Jhulan Goswami ended her career after appearing in 12 Tests, 204 ODIs and 68 T20Is and taking 355 wickets across all formats. In the women's Test format, Goswami has taken 44 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 17.36 and an economy of 2.02.

Goswami has 56 wickets to her name in the women's T20I format, with an average of 21.94 and an economy of 5.45. In the ODI format, she has taken 255 wickets in 204 matches at an average of 22.04.

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Working as bowling coach of MI

The 41-year-old Goswami is currently working as the bowling coach and mentor of the Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League (WPL), which won the inaugural season of the league. Earlier this year, Goswami was the team mentor at the Women's Caribbean Premier League franchise Trinbago Knight Riders. 

After retirement, Goswami has worked as a mentor for the senior Bengal women's team and has also been involved in the Women's Premier League.

Bengal defeated Himachal Pradesh by 21 runs in the second semi-finals of the Senior Women's T20 Trophy 2024 on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Bengal all-rounder Mita Paul was adjudged player of the match for her 1 wicket and 29 runs with the bat.

Batting first, Bengal struggled early, losing Dhara Gujjar on duck in the first over. But, Richa Ghosh, the Indian wicket-keeper batter promoted as the opener, made sure she built a partnership with vice-captain Tanushree Sarkar for the second wicket.

Richa departed after adding 31 from 28 balls but Tanushree battled in the middle to build another partnership for Bengal, this time with Mita Paul. Tanushree, who made her return to the Bengal team after representing Railways last few years, perished after scoring a run-a-ball 36.

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Mita Paul tried to take the inning deep but lost her wicket after scoring 30-ball 29. But, it was youngster Sasthi Mondal, whose 11 from 5 balls gave Bengal the finish they were looking for. Bengal finished their first inning on 134/6, giving Himachal a tough task to chase down the total under the lights at Wankhede. 

With a batting lineup consisting of international players like captain Sushma Verma and Harleen Deol, Himachal looked like the team which can chase down Bengal's total. However, Titas Sadhu struck early for Bengal as she removed Sushma Verma in the fourth over. Off-spinner Sushmita Ganguly then clean bowled Nikita Chauhan, to hand Bengal the momentum. 

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Though Himachal were trying to build a partnership and take the game deep, Bengal captain Saika Ishaque dismissed Sonal Thakur and Monika Devi in the same over to give Bengal the advantage. Despite a valiant effort from S M Singh (32 from 22 balls), Himachal fell short of the total by 21 runs. Saika Ishaque and Titas Sadhu took two wickets each for Bengal.

In the other semi-final, Mumbai defeated Uttarakhand by 31 runs to enter the final. Bengal and Mumbai will face each other in the final on 12th November at Wankhede Stadium from 4.30 pm IST.

In a blow to India's medal chances at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, host city Glasgow has dropped cricket from the Games due to low budget. Glasgow has selected and shortlisted budget-friendly sports for the Games.

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Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Katie Sadleir said in a statement, "The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow - an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact - in doing so increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting."

10 events will be played in 2026 Commonwealth Games

Hockey, badminton, wrestling, shooting, Table tennis, squash, and triathlon have also been dropped to limit the budget and streamline logistics. Only four venues in Glasgow will host the entire Games. The total number of events at the 2026 Commonwealth Games will be ten, fewer than the 2022 Birmingham edition.

Among the sports that have been removed from the Commonwealth Games, India had finished on the podium in the previous edition in Birmingham in 2022. India had won 61 medals, including 22 gold, in the last edition of the Games. 12 in wrestling, seven each in boxing and table tennis, six in badminton, two each in hockey and squash and one in cricket – more than half of the total medals.

Cricket was re-introduced after 24-year gap

Cricket was re-introduced after a 24-year gap in the Commonwealth Games 2022 in which the Indian women's team won the silver medal. Australia won the gold, beating India in the final, and New Zealand won the bronze. Back in 1998, South Africa had won the men's 50-over gold, with Australia winning silver and New Zealand winning bronze.

The 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games will start from July 23 in 2026 and will continue till August 2 in Glasgow, Scotland, returning to the city 12 years after the hugely successful 2014 Commonwealth Games.

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Reason behind the exclusion of these sports

The 2026 Commonwealth Games were earlier to be held in Sydney, Australia, but the Kangaroo country had backed out citing financial constraints as the reason. Then Glasgow had shown interest in these games with some conditions, it had presented a plan to organize these games with fewer games, which was approved by the Commonwealth Federation, that is why 6 games have been excluded.

Indian wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh will miss the home series against New Zealand due to her class 12 board exams as BCCI released the full squad for the three-match ODI home series against New Zealand.

Richa has been playing for the Indian Women's Cricket team since the age of 16 and was not able to give her class 12th board exam during this period. 

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The 21-year-old wicket-keeper batter was replaced by Uma Chetry in the squad. Pace bowling all-rounders Sayali Satghare and Saima Thakor, legspinner Priya Mishra and middle-order batter Tejal Hasabnis received their maiden call-ups as Pooja Vastrakar was rested while Asha Sobhana was unavailable for the selection due to injury.

India will play all three WODIs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

India’s squad for the three ODI series against New Zealand: 

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, D Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Sayali Satgare, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Tejal Hasabnis, Saima Thakor, Priya Mishra, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil.

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Indian Women's Cricket team have failed yet another time in the ICC tournament as they crashed out from the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 from the group stage.

But, it was not the first time India failed to do well in an ICC tournament. In fact, the Indian Women's team never won an ICC trophy since their existence. But, what are the reasons for that?

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Problems and Solutions

Sportz Point came up with all the reasons for India's failure and the probable solutions.

• Fewer matches before the T20 World Cup 2024.
• Basic game awareness.
• Poor running between the wickets
• Deepti Sharma's lack of performance as an all-rounder.
• Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh's inability to perform against big teams.

Solutions to those issues -

• More power hitters from the grassroots. 
• Smriti Mandhana as the captain, keeping Harmanpreet Kaur as the batter.
• Changes in the mindsets of the coaches in domestic tournaments.
• More pace bowling all-rounders.
• Players who want to dominate the opponent.