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In overcast Headingley conditions, an all-round performance from Shafali Verma, who scored her first fifty at a T20 World Cup, then took 3 for 20, headlined a 95-run win for India. India were meeting Netherlands for the first time in a women’s T20I, and their pedigree on the big stage proved too much for a Netherlands outfit fresh off a close final-over finish against Bangladesh on Sunday. There would be no close contest here.
Put in to bat first, India tonked their way to 209 for 5 – their highest-ever total at a T20 World Cup, Smriti Mandhana top-scoring with a 47-ball 74. Then, Shree Charani’s spell of 4 for 19 polished off a spirited Netherlands batting effort for 114.
India sealed their second consecutive win, zooming past Australia to the top of Group 1, courtesy a higher net run-rate. Netherlands, on the other hand, remain winless.
Shafali and Mandhana set the tone for India when they put on a 115-run opening partnership. Their stand was a study in illusion. On the pitch, they kept their shots grounded, barely taking any risks against the Netherlands bowlers through the 11.4 overs they spent in the middle together. On the scorecard, they still ticked away at a run-rate close to 10 per over.
In part, this was because of the unforced errors by the Netherlands bowlers. They frequently missed their radar, with Myrthe van den Raad bowling a 12-ball over, featuring seven runs off extras. However, it was emblematic of Netherlands’ performance with ball in hand that she still ended up conceding just 11 off the over. When she was not spraying wides down leg, she stuck to the good length area. In total, Netherlands gave away 16 runs in extras.
Shafali began upping the run rate by taking the aerial route. She brought up a 34-ball fifty – it was her first at a T20 World Cup, having made her debut in the tournament six years ago. Still, she had to depart soon after, against the run of play, when she holed out to long-on in the 12th over, mistiming a pull off Heather Siegers.
An inexperienced Netherlands team had its moments against powerhouse India [Cricinfo]
Netherlands had already racked up extras in the double-digits, and then, they dropped three chances to let India get away to an insurmountable total in the final four overs of the contest.
In the 11th over, Shafali had been dropped at cover, on the ball she got to her fifty. More missed chances were to come for Netherlands, who had mounted a mini-comeback: Caroline de Lange plucked out Mandhana at the end of the 16th over, then at the start of the 17th, van den Raad got Jemimah Rodrigues edging behind on the scoop.
At this point, India were 162 for 3. van den Raad looked set to put her extras troubles further behind her with a second wicket in the 17th, when Richa Ghosh bunted an edge up in the air. However, Phebe Molkonboer – running in from extra cover – shelled the catch right next to the stumps. Off the same delivery, with no fielder backing up the stumps, Netherlands missed out on a run-out chance at the non-striker’s end as well.
Two more drops ensued: Silver Siegers dropped Ghosh in the 18th over, the ball bursting through her hands and going for four. Then in the final over, Harmanpreet Kaur was put down by Robine Rijke at mid-off. Ghosh took full toll of her second chance, scoring an unbeaten 8-ball 20, as India ransacked 41 runs off the last three overs.
You could not fault Netherlands for their bravery with bat in hand. Opener Heather Siegers scored four fours during her 16-ball 21. She boshed drives through the ‘V’, even stepping deep into the off side at one point to Shafali in the fourth over, pulling her to long leg in a display of power and timing.
However, India’s spinners combined on a pitch that kept low and slow through the second innings to keep a stranglehold on the Netherlands batting line-up. Molkenboer, the other opener, played pristine drives of her own, but more often, failed to time her shots past a packed covers cordon. In the end, she perished on 15 off 20 in the eighth over, Netherlands just about going at a run a ball.
Shree Charani took four wickets [Cricinfo]
One of India’s spinners, however, had her day on the field cut short by an unfortunate ankle injury. In the sixth over, Molkonboer timed an on-drive to Shreyanka Patil’s right, where she went to field the delivery but ended up twisting her right ankle. In the end, she had to be stretchered off the field, and played no further part in the contest.
Even as the required rate ballooned past the realm of the plausible, Netherlands’ batters skipped down the track to attack India’s bowlers. Captain Babette de Leede was stumped a long way out of her ground, looking to loft Nandani Sharma down the ground. Sterre Kalis, too, heard her stumps rattle when she swung across the wrong line against Shafali, whose slow deliveries through the air kept puzzling the opposition.
Netherlands’ wickets kept falling in the same vein post the halfway mark of their chase. Batting against Shree Charani, Frederique Overdijk holed out to long-on, Rijke was pinned lbw looking for an extravagant sweep, and Iris Zwilling was out looking for a slog sweep too, handing the India left-arm spinner a fourth wicket.
Netherlands collapsed in the end, losing their last five wickets for just one run in the space of nine deliveries. Fittingly, with just one wicket left to take, Shafali was the one with ball in hand when Isabel van der Woning looked to swing down the ground. Rodrigues ran in from long-on to complete an excellent catch and take India to the top of their table.
SCORES:
India Women 209 for 5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 74, Shafali Verma 55, Jemimah Rodrigues 19, Richa Ghosh 20*, Harmanpreet Kaur 12, Deepti Sharma 10*; Iris Zwilling 1-41, Heather Siegers 1-31, Myrthe van dem Read 1-37, Caroline de Lange 2-32) beat Netherlands Women 114 in 17.3 overs (Heather Siegers 21, Phebe Molkenboer 15, Babette de Leede 28, Sterre Kalis 18: Nandani Sharma 2-22, Shree Charani 4-19, Shafali Verma 3-20, Deepti Sharma 1-26) by 95 runs
[Cricinfo]
Bowlers, Voll power Australia to huge win over Bangladesh
Nilakshika guides Sri Lanka to historic win over New Zealand
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Scotland take on West Indies in Leeds at 18:30 local time (17:30 GMT) in Group 2 of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Both teams won their opening matches in this competition – Shemaine Campbelle’s unbeaten 90 aided by New Zealand’s dropped catches saw West Indies emerging victorious, while a strong all round performance from Scotland brushed aside Ireland.
Scotland and West Indies have played each other only three times across formats – their lone T20I meeting coming at the last World Cup. Crucially, though, Scotland dealt West Indies perhaps their biggest blow in recent times with their win in the Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier last year. Scotland staved off an all-round show from Hayley Matthews to eke out an 11-run win, denying West Indies a chance to qualify for the ODI World Cup last year.
Coming on the back of a comfortable win, expect Scotland to go in unchanged.
Scotland (probable XI): Darcey Carter, Katherine Fraser, Kathryn Bryce (capt), Sarah Bryce (wk), Ailsa Lister, Megan McColl, Priyanaz Chatterji, Rachel Slater, Chloe Abel, Kirstie Gordon, Gabriella Fontenla
West Indies head coach Shane Deitz had said that Chinelle Henry was close to playing their opening game. If fit, she can add heft to their lower-middle order as well as the bowling department.
West Indies (probable XI): Qiana Joseph, Hayley Matthews (capt), Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Deandra Dottin, Jahzara Claxton/Chinelle Henry, Jannillea Glasgow, Aaliyah Alleyne, Zaida James, Shawnisha Hector, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack
Players to watch:
Kathryn Bryce: The Scotland captain had a big role to play in their first win at this T20 World Cup. She scored a rapid half-century and picked up two wickets against Ireland. Bryce has picked up at least one wicket in 11 of the 12 T20Is she has played this year, apart from being consistent with the bat. Her experience of playing regularly in England’s domestic circuit could be key for Scotland against West Indies.
Deandra Dottin: She was at her brutal best in the last iteration of the T20 World Cup (strike rate 165.54, average 39.4, 12 sixes) but since the start of 2025, Dottin has only one T20I half-century at a strike rate of 122.84. Dottin had scored an unbeaten 15-ball 28 the last time she faced Scotland. Can she find her mojo back against them?
While Australia’s bowlers bulldozed Bangladesh, India’s batters made merry to show the batting-friendly nature of the surface in Leeds. Weather wise, the evening is likely to become cooler, with temperatures ranging from 19 to 22 degrees Celsius. There is no forecast of rain, even though it grew slightly overcast towards the start of Netherlands’ innings on Wednesday.
[Cricinfo]
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Moscow has come under the largest Ukrainian attack since the start of the full-scale war, with close to 200 drones hitting targets around the Russian capital and setting columns of thick smoke billowing high into the sky.
Seventeen people were wounded in the Moscow region, according to local governor Andrei Vorobyov.
Almost 1,000 drones and four Ukrainian cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed across the country in 24 hours, Russia’s defence ministry was quoted as saying. An oil depot was struck in the southern Rostov region, where one person was killed.
Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had once again hit the Moscow region with “long-range sanctions” – a euphemism for Ukrainian long-distance strikes on Russia.
“It’s time to end this war, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy,” he added.
He said the massive drone strike was in response to last week’s Russian attack on Kyiv, which set a major religious landmark ablaze.
“We don’t want this war and have never wanted it,” Zelensky said. “But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn too.”
Fires broke out as the Kapotnya refinery in south-east Moscow was hit for the third time in a month and the second time this week, colouring the sky black with smoke. Numerous videos showed the lid of a large oil storage tank blown dozens of metres into the air by the force of an explosion.
A nearby shopping centre was also burning, reportedly after drone debris fell on the building, and several residential high-rise blocks were evacuated.
Moscow’s four airports were temporarily shut and more than 500 flights were cancelled or delayed.
Although local authorities across Russia have banned publication of images of the aftermath of drone strikes, dozens of videos were posted on social media showing drones flying across the sky in broad daylight and explosions over industrial areas on the outskirts of Moscow.
Four and a half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war of attrition on the front line in Ukraine grinds on, out of sight for many ordinary Russians.
Kyiv’s long-range strikes on targets across Russia as well as Moscow and St Petersburg are an indication of Zelensky’s aim of “bringing the war home” to Russians.
Drone attacks on Moscow – about 500km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border – have become more frequent as Kyiv has developed its long-range capabilities. Ukraine’s first successful drone strikes reached the Russian capital in spring 2023, although they were sporadic and rarely involved more than a handful of drones.
Since then, extensive air defences have been set up around Moscow – but the number of drones used by Ukraine in its attacks has also multiplied and some have penetrated those defences.
Meanwhile, Russia launched more than 200 drones and multiple ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv said.
Vladimir Putin, who is hosting southeast Asian leaders for a summit in the central city of Kazan, has not commented on the large-scale attack on the Russian capital.
Writing on X, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said: “One of the most popular questions asked by Muscovites this morning is ‘What is going on?’”
“I can answer. Your country started a war of aggression against ours. For years, it has been killing our people,” Sybiha wrote.
“Now that you know what’s going on, ask Putin when he is planning to end it.”
[BBC]
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Oil prices have dropped following the United States and Iran’s signing of an interim peace agreement, resuming a slide interrupted by US President Donald Trump’s warning that he could restart his military campaign.
Brent crude fell 2.3 percent on Thursday in Asia, returning the international benchmark to near to where it was 24 hours previously
Brent futures for delivery in August stood at $77.73 as of 05:30 GMT, only about 7 percent higher than before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28.
After several days of declines, Brent briefly spiked above $81 a barrel on Wednesday after Trump warned that the US could “go right back to dropping bombs” on Iran if it doesn’t “behave”.
Shrugging off losses on Wall Street overnight, Asian stock markets rallied on renewed optimism for an end to nearly four months of disruption to global energy supply chains.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi both hit all-time highs, gaining more than 2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Taiwan’s Taiex rose as much as 1.3 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index bucked the trend, dropping 1.7 percent.
US stock futures, which are traded outside of regular market hours and often foreshadow the next day’s performance, climbed, with those tied to the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing about 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
“Putting aside the contents of the MoU, markets are likely to be welcoming the fact that both the US and Iran signed it sooner than initially expected,” Norihiro Yamaguchi, lead economist for Japan at Oxford Economics, told Al Jazeera.
“The timing is also supportive, as the major central bank policy meetings have now passed, reducing a key source of uncertainty,” Yamaguchi said.
“For Asian markets, the renewed strength in US semiconductor stocks should provide an additional boost, given the region’s heavy exposure to tech shares.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the negotiations between Washington and Tehran, said on Wednesday that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) had entered into force with “immediate effect”.
Sharif said Iran would “instantly reopen” the Strait of Hormuz and the US would “immediately” lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, though it was not immediately clear if the announcement had any effect on boosting maritime traffic in the critical waterway.
Shipping in the strait has been reduced to a fraction of peacetime levels due to the threat of Iranian missiles, drones and mines, as well as the US blockade.
The blockage has resulted in an estimated daily shortfall of 14 million barrels in the global oil market, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG in Sydney, said that while markets have responded to the MoU with optimism, the relief is “largely priced in” as practical issues such as the backlog of vessels in the Gulf and mine clearing operations must still be resolved.
“There is a notable divergence between sentiment and physical supply – production ramp-up and logistics normalisation will take time,” Yip told Al Jazeera.
While more than 500 vessels are estimated to be waiting to exit the Gulf through the strait, shipping companies have expressed concern about the lack of clarity on how to ensure the safety of their vessels and crews in the channel.
In a statement earlier this week, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), one of the world’s largest associations for shipowners, said the US and Iran had yet to provide information about “key aspects such as timings and safe routes”.
“Due to lack of details and a history of overly optimistic reassurances, we believe the security situation for the shipping industry remains volatile, and we still consider it very risky for ships to commence transits at this point,” Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at BIMCO, said in a statement on Monday, responding to the initial announcement of the MoU.
“We advise shipowners to continue doing thorough risk assessments and appeal to all parties to put the safety of seafarers first.”
[Aljazeera]
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