Kerala women to match wits in T20 cricket
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deccan chronicle
A couple of years back, winning a match was a great relief for us,” said former Kerala women’s cricket all-rounder Anu Ashok. “But, now our girls go out to the field with a positive energy and they just don’t get satisfied with a consolation win,” she declared.
Anu, now a qualified coach who is designated to train the Kerala under-16 girls’ team for the first ever South-zone Twenty20 women’s cricket tournament that will begin in the state next week says women’s cricket has made unprecedented strides in the State.
“Women’s cricket is now getting popular in almost every category. Last year, our State senior team finished runners-up to Hyderabad in an invitation tournament held in Bengaluru. The main reason being a new-found energy in our players,” said Anu.
It was two years ago that the Indian eves reached the finals of the Women’s Cricket World Cup, which was followed by a semifinal appearance in the World T20 Championship last year. The inspiring performance by the national side has seemingly propelled the State players to follow suit.
It was the improved performance of the Indian women’s team that made the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) to conduct annual inter-State women’s cricket tournaments. Luckily, the State has won the lucky dip and the newly furbished ground at St. Paul’s College, Kalamassery, will host the matches from August 17 to 21.
Four other teams such as Karnataka, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and Goa will vie for the KCA Trophy. The specialty of the tournament is that it will be in Twenty20 format and Kerala will begin their endeavour against Hyderabad.
“It will be a tough task for me and the players as normally women are not used to the Twenty20 format and we are up against strong opponents. But, we have beaten them in other formats of the game so it is only a matter of sticking to the basics and improve gradually,” said Anu.
It will be interesting to watch how our girls perform in the most exciting format of the game.
Meanwhile, there is more good news for women’s cricket in the State as all-rounder
Asha S. got her maiden call to the national senior women’s camp.
The Thiruvananthapuram girl, who is employed in the Central Railways is regarded as one of the most promising women cricketers to emerge from this part of the world.
She was chosen as the best women cricketer of Kerala during 2009-10. Asha, who was vice-captain of the south-zone team, was also the leading wicket-taker in the inter-zonal tournament held in Ahmedabad last year.
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