Indian Women's team will go one on one against the mighty New Zealand Women's team at 6.30 am on Thursday. After a very comfortable win against the Pakistani team, India will be very confident against the White Ferns in Hamilton. However, with both the teams having legends in their teams, Gargi Banerjee feels it will be the fielding of both the teams that will decide the INDW vs NZW match.
"There is no certainty in a tournament like World Cup. Teams like West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh have shown anyone can fight and win on their given day," Gargi Banerjee cautioned India after a huge win against Pakistan. "New Zealand is a very good team and they will look to better their position on the points table," she added ahead of the INDW vs NZW clash.
India did not have a great start against the arch-rival Pakistan. Shafali Verma's off form continued as she could not even open her account. "She is choosing the wrong balls and wrong shots. She needs to give herself time or at least choose the right deliveries to attack. Otherwise, if the team keeps losing wickets at the start, they will be in big trouble."
However, India did pull it back as Pooja Vastrakar and Sneh Rana made a record-breaking partnership batting down the order for India. Their 122 run partnership for the seventh wicket is India's best in any Women's World Cup. Moreover, this was the first time in Women's ODI cricket that both the batter below number seven scored a fifty in the same match.
"They showed both guts and sense at the same time. Sneh Rana is a very useful cricketer. And, Pooja is well known for her hitting range. It was their approach and intent that took India out of misery against Pakistan," Gargi Banerjee sounded thrilled on their performance in the last game. "I think the appointment of the psychologist helped to build their mental strength like this," she added.
Sneh Rana against Pakistan Women's. Image - Female Cricket
Though middle-order stalwart Mithali struggled against the Pakistani attack, Gargi Banerjee is not worried about her form and strike rate at all. "Mithali plays like this. She takes time and plays according to the situation. Her presence on the crease worries the opponent a lot. And she knows it very well," she told Sportz Point in an exclusive interview prior to the INDW vs NZW match.
The former Indian cricketer feels India can try Shafali Verma down the order which can help her stroke play when the ball is not doing too much. In that case, she wants Deepti Sharma to move up the order.
"Deepti is playing very well. Shafali is not having a good time at the top of the order as well. So, if the management pushes Shafali down the order that can be an experiment worth trying. It might help her style of play as well with the license to go for the kill along with Pooja and Sneh down there."
"Even they can try Yastiak Bhatia at the top as well. She can be a surprise package for the opponent. Giving a break to Shafali might work well for her as well. But, I know the management will surely give her another chance."
Along with all the fuss in batting bowling, it is the fielding that she thinks holds the key. "Fielding will be the key. We need to stop every boundary, every two and singles. The team with better fielding effort tomorrow will surely have the upper hand," Gargi Banerjee added.
India is currently at number three position on the Women's World Cup Points Table. Meanwhile, New Zealand is at number five on the table.
Exclusive: "Want to work with younger kids, find and create the next Sourav Ganguly," Abdul Monayem, after an illustrious 20-year club coaching career
After spending 20 years in club coaching, Abdul Monayem, Kolkata's one of the most successful club coaches, now wants to work with younger kids to find the next cricketing icon from West Bengal.
Abdul Monayem is a name that will go down in the history of Kolkata Club Cricket without any doubt. The former fast bowler joined Bhowanipur Club as a coach in 2009-10, when the team had just been promoted to the first division. Since then, he has helped them win three league titles along with multiple trophies.
Not only that, he helped East Bengal win the P.Sen trophy this season and qualify for the league final after nearly ten years.
Monayem retires from club coaching
Abdul Monayem with East Bengal chief Debabrata (Nitu) Sarkar. Image | Facebook
After spending 20 years in club cricket and emerging as one of the most successful club coaches, Abdul Monayem decided to retire from club coaching.
But why?
Monayem answered the reason, along with sharing his future goal, in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point, just one day after the announcement via a Facebook post.
"This is a very personal decision. Just woke up that morning and felt like I was not enjoying it anymore. So, decided to leave club coaching," Monayem answered when Sportz Point asked him about the reason for calling it a day at club level.
"Even after the last season for Bhowanipur, I was thinking about this. But two seasons back, Nitu (Debabrata) Sarkar invited me to take up the challenge to help the East Bengal cricket team become a winning side. So, I took up the challenge," he added.
Abdul Monayem won nearly every possible trophy for the Bhowanipur Cricket club, and when he joined East Bengal, the goal was to make them win trophies.
"When I joined East Bengal two seasons back, the team was already made. This season, I was able to make the team. We won the P.Sen trophy and will play the league final again. Very happy to get them back to winning ways," Monayem shared.
Will Monayem be there for East Bengal in the league final?
Abdul Monayem and East Bengal after winning the Kolkata Derby in league semis. Image | Facebook
Abdul Monayem will travel to France to attend his son's convocation and support him on this important day.
Along with players, coaches, and staff always miss the chance to be there for their families and with their son's one of the biggest days approaching, Monayem does not want to miss the chance to be there for him.
That is why he had already informed East Bengal that if they reach the final, he will not be there on the sidelines. East Bengal club also respected his decision and accepted the letter from Monayem.
"I will be visiting France for my son's convocation. My wife and I will both be there. I have missed a lot of things for cricket and coaching. I did not want to miss this."
So, I had sent a letter to East Bengal earlier that if we reach the final, I will not be there for the team. East Bengal also respected my decision and accepted the letter," Monayem shared.
Abdul Monayem with East Bengal team after winning the P. Sen trophy. Image | Facebook
Throughout his coaching career, Abdul Monayem not only won trophies for his club but also developed players who can contribute to Bengal cricket in the long run. He has helped several accomplished players return to the Bengal team.
Shib Shankar Paul, Saurasish Lahiri, and Arnab Nandi are just a few of the names who managed to return to the Bengal Ranji team after excelling under Monayem at Bhowanipur Club.
Players like Ravikant Singh, Sumit Mohanta, Sourav Paul, and Agniv Pan made their first-class debuts for Bengal after playing under Monayem.
"Before signing any player, I used to ask them if they only had a dream of playing the Ranji trophy for Bengal, then sign for my club," Monayem answered.
Monayem, who loves to read and write about cricket and coaching, follows the great P.K. Banerjee's style of coaching, where he tries to develop a one-on-one connection with players more than anything else.
As per Monayem, knowing the pulse of the players and then instilling faith in them is the main thing of coaching. If any coach can do that, they will win half the battle.
Since the beginning of Sportz Point, multiple Bengal cricketers have mentioned Abdul Monayem in their interviews, and more than winning any trophies, Monayem feels this is his biggest achievement in his coaching career.
"I did not become a coach to earn money. I did not do this for money," Abdul Monayem expressed.
"I became a coach to stay in touch with them. Chitrak Mitra, the former BCCI vice-president, gave me the responsibility at that time and told me that I was good enough to be a coach."
"Since then, my only goal has been to create valuable cricketers and give Bengal a few cricketing stars."
"I have only one regret from club cricket"
Despite all the success, Abdul Monayem has only one regret within himself. He wished to give Bengal cricket an iconic cricketer like Sourav Ganguly, but he feels he failed to do so.
Monayem, who gave Abishek Porel his first break in the first division cricket and told him that he bats like Brian Lara, believes Porel can be the next big star from Bengal. But, after all of these years, Monayem knows that to find and create the next Sourav Ganguly, he will have to go back to the roots and scout talent from the U-13 level.
Taking the reference of Mumbai cricket, Monayem said, "You saw how they have stands named after so many players. They keep on creating iconic players season after season. I believe in Bengal we can also do that, given we have the system and infrastructure."
This is why Monayem now wants to scout and find young talents for Bengal, only if the Cricket Association of Bengal finds him worthy enough for that role.
"I want to scout and work with young kids to find and make the next Sourav Ganguly"
Monayem with Rahul Prasad and other kids at A.S.O.S Image | Facebook
At A.S.O.S, Monayem trains 30 kids for free so that Bengal cricket's next generation is in safe hands. Players like Rahul Prasad have emerged from Monayem's A.S.O.S camps.
"If you want to have iconic players like Sourav Ganguly, who inspired multiple generations of Bengal cricketers, you will have to find them young and make them believe they can rule Indian cricket. I want to do that work for Bengal, if C.A.B. feels I am good enough for that job," Monayem stated.
Emphasising icons like Sourav Ganguly and Jhulan Goswami's roles in Bengal cricket, Monayem added, "Only if we can have global icons like them from Bengal, then only we will be able to secure Bengal cricket's future."
Abdul Monayem's club coaching career
High Court Club (2004-05 to 2005-06)
Marked the start of coaching career after a 20-year playing career.
Opportunity provided by Pankaj Mallick and Binay Mishra.
Coached under captain Rajiv Dutta (now an NCA Coach).
Key players: Sourav Sil, Bunty Gowala.
Focused on building a strong team dynamic, laying the foundation for coaching philosophy.
Mohun Bagan (2006-07 to 2007-08)
Joined through Dipankar Hazra and Anjan Mitra.
Seasons led by captains Palash Bhowmick, Utpal Chatterjee (2006-07), and Manoj Tiwary (2007-08).
Esha Oza currently holds the record for most centuries in WT20Is, with four centuries in the format. Explore the list of players with such century records!
Scoring a century in any form of cricket is a moment of glory, but in the fast-paced format of T20s, it gets more exciting to watch. Numerous cricketers have consistently proved themselves in this format by delivering spectacular tons.
The list goes deep as we have such power-hitters from around the globe!
Join us as we explore the list of players with most centuries in WT20Is and celebrate their glorious innings.
1. Esha Oza (4 centuries) | UAE
Esha Oza in action against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2024. Image | ESPNcricinfo
The current captain of UAE, Esha Oza, holds the record for most centuries in WT20Is with 4 centuries in her T20 career so far. This Indian-born cricketer made her debut in T20Is in 2018 and reached this milestone extremely fast.
She is also the fastest player from UAE to reach 1000 runs in T20Is. Her fourth century in T20Is came against Qatar in the Asia Cup qualifier, where she led her team to a brilliant victory.
Chamari Athapaththu celebrating her 113 off 66 balls against Australia in 2019. Image | ESPNcricinfo
Chamari Athapaththu, the current captain of Sri Lanka national team, holds the 2nd position in this list with her 3 centuries in WT20Is. She is one of the finest cricketers from Sri Lanka and led them to win the 2024 Asia Cup.
Chamari scored her first hundred in T20Is in 2019 against Australia. She scored the other following centuries in 2024 against Scotland and Malaysia.
Fatuma Kibasu celebrating her century in 2019. Image | Facebook
The former captain of Tanzania, Fatuma Kibasu, holds the 3rd position with her 3 centuries in WT20Is. She is the only Tanzanian woman to score a century at international level so far, and holds the highest individual score for her country in WT20Is.
Fatuma made her T20 debut in 2019 and played magnificently ever since!
The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the Indian Women's Cricket team squad for the upcoming England tour starting June 28th, 2025.
The Women in Blue will play five T20Is and three ODIs against the England Women's Cricket team.
Harmanpreet Kaur was named the captain of the both squads. Meantime, Smriti Mandhana was named the vice captain of the team.
Kranti Gaud and Sayali Satghare are a few of the new names in the squad who were not part of the Tri-Nation series-winning squad for India. Shafali Verma returned to the T20I squad after missing out for a few months due to being off form.
Bengal Cricket: Aryan Club Clinch CAB Women's One-Day Title with Dominant 47-Run Win
Tanusree Sarkar's attacking 76 from 50 balls and Priyanka Bala's unbeaten 45 helped Aryan Club win the CAB Women's One-Day Title by 47 runs against Mohun Bagan A.C.
Aryan Club (Women's) delivered a commanding performance to secure the C.A.B. Women's Club Cricket League (One-Day) Tournament 2024-2025 title, defeating Mohun Bagan A.C. (Women) by 47 runs in a thrilling final at the 22-Yards SP School Ground.
Powered by a blazing knock from captain Tanusree Sarkar and a disciplined bowling effort, Aryan Club showcased their dominance in a match that had fans buzzing with excitement.
Tanusree Sarkar scored an attacking 76 off 50 balls. Image | C.A.B.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Aryan Club got off to a steady start with opener Dyuti Paul (23 off 23) and Sujata Dey taking the score to 28 for the first wicket.
However, it was captain Tanusree Sarkar who stole the show with a scintillating 76 off 50 balls, smashing 10 fours and a six at a strike rate of 152. Her aggressive strokeplay set the tone for Aryan’s innings.
Priyanka Bala’s unbeaten 45 provided the perfect foil, anchoring the latter half with composure, while Jhumia Khatun chipped in with a quickfire 18. Despite Diya Nandi’s 2/38 for Mohun Bagan, Aryan Club posted a formidable 171/4 in their 25 overs, setting a challenging target.
Sritama Nandi was the star with the ball with her 4/29 | Image - C.A.B.
Chasing 172, Mohun Bagan A.C. (Women) got off to a rocky start, losing Sneha Gupta (3) in the second over to Susmita Ganguly.
Captain Ankita Chakraborty led the fightback with a resolute 46, partnering with Diya Nandi (32) for a crucial 71-run stand. However, Aryan’s bowlers struck back with precision.
Sinjini Sarkar (2/28) removed both set batters in quick succession, triggering a collapse. Tanusree Sarkar (1/22) and Sritama Nandi (4/29) ran through the middle order, with Nandi’s sensational spell dismantling Mohun Bagan’s hopes.
Dipa Das (29) and Puja Rajak (13) showed fight, but Jhumia Khatun’s late wickets, including a stumping, sealed Mohun Bagan’s fate at 128 all out in 25 overs.
Most centuries by Indian cricketers in WODIs: No one is catching Smriti Mandhana
With her 116 from 101 balls against Sri Lanka, Smriti Mandhana now has scored 11 tons in WODIs. Here is a list of seven women batters with the most centuries by Indian cricketers in WODIs.
With another century in the tri-nation series final against Sri Lanka, Smriti Mandhana now has extended her lead in the list of Indian players with the most centuries in Women's ODIs. The left-handed opener scored a staggering 116 from 101 balls to help India score 342 in the first inning in Colombo.
Here is a list of seven women batters with the most centuries by Indian cricketers in WODIs.
Former Indian batter Jaya Sharma was only the second female Indian cricketer to have scored a century in ODI cricket. She smashed two centuries in WODI cricket in her career.
While her first century had come against Pakistan during Women's Asia Cup 2005 in Karachi, she scored another one in a winning effort against Australia in 2007 in Chennai making her the first Indian women to score an ODI century at home.
The left-handed batter could've achieved the milestone a few years before had she converted a couple of nervous 90s into hundreds.
6. Jemimah Rodrigues | 2 Centuries
Jemimah Rodrigues etched her name in the record books with a blistering century as India Women posted 337/9 in 50 overs against South Africa Women in the fifth match of the Women’s Tri-Series 2025 at Colombo.
Rodrigues delivered a sensational knock of 123 runs off just 101 balls, anchoring the middle overs and setting the tone for a massive total. Her innings featured 15 fours and one six, scored at a strike rate of 121.78.
With this century, Jemimah has now joined the elite list of most centuries by Indian cricketers in WODIs. This is also Rodrigues' highest score in Women's ODIs after her 102 against Ireland Women earlier this year.
5. Thirush Kamini | 2 Centuries
Former Indian and Tamil Nadu opener Thirush Kamini played for India at a time when women's cricket wasn't really picking up in the country. Regardless, she did well in her limited opportunities and notched a ton twice in her ODI career that spanned 39 matches and scored 825 runs at an average of 25.78.
Kamini's maiden ODI hundred came in India's win over the West Indies in the 2013 ODI World Cup. She stroked a 146-ball 100 to power India to a total of 284/6 in the first innings. India won that match comfortably and Thirush Kamini was rightfully awarded the POTM award.
4. Punam Raut | 3 Centuries
The diminutive Indian batter Punam Raut was one of the pillars in Indian batting along with Harmanpreet, Smriti, Mithali and Veda Krishnmurthy. Punam has recorded three centuries in women's ODI cricket.
Punam smashed one WODI century at a home venue and two WODI centuries at neutral venues. Her highest score in this format is 109 not out against Ireland Women at Potchefstroom during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017.
3. Harmanpreet Kaur | 6 Centuries
Indian Women's Cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur is one of the finest batters in Indian women’s cricket history. The right-handed batter has scored six WODI centuries in her career.
Apart from three home WODI centuries, Harmanpreet also recorded two WODI hundreds at neutral venues and one more at an away venue. Her highest WODI score is 171 not out against Australia Women during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017 semi-final.
2. Mithali Raj | 7 Centuries
Former Indian cricketer and captain Mithali Raj (7805 runs) is still the only player to score 6000 and 7000 WODI runs. The leading WODI run-scorer was the previous record holder for most centuries by Indian cricketers in WODIs.
She recorded seven WODI hundreds in her career.
While Mithali scored three WODI centuries at home, the right-handed batter recorded three WODI centuries at neutral venues and one at an away venue. Her highest WODI knock was 125 not out against Sri Lanka Women at Katunayake in 2018.
Smriti Mandhan after scoring her 11th WODI ton in the tri-nation series final vs Sri Lanka. Image | AFP
Indian opening batter Smriti Mandhana is one of the best batters in the modern generation. The left-hander holds the record for most centuries by Indian cricketers in WODIs.
She achieved the record solely in January 2025 after scoring a 70-ball century against Ireland in the final ODI of a three-match series in Rajkot. It was her tenth WODI hundred.
Mandhana has scored four WODI centuries at home, five WODI centuries in away venues, and two WODI hundreds at neutral venues. By scoring three out of four WODI home centuries in 2024, she also became the first Indian player to record three WODI hundreds in a calendar year.
Her record WODI score is 136 against South Africa Women in the 2024 Bengaluru WODI.
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