A few decades ago, Ranji matches were won by Bombay and hence not much would be read about that Pre QF on Feb 1994 at Faridabad between Haryana & Bombay - Bombay won by an innings and 202 runs
Touch your heart and tell !! ~ how many times we have voiced, heard, acknowledged criticism of bias & Prejudice - whenever a player whom we felt good enough was not selected – one would jump to say – it is Bombay lobby !!
While
everyone is rejoicing the great win of Indian Womens’ Team in ICC WC 2025 –
there is a man whom now everyone knows – made more than 11000 first class runs,
captained Mumbai .. .. yet never
played for India !! – never lacked talent but the timing was just not right !!!
Indian Women are Champions – we are rejoicing .. .. but the preliminary rounds progressed rather differently. Australian Women were the best – won 6 of their 7 – lost none – one was no result. In the other SF – England women who won 5 and lost 1 of their 7 were knocked out by South Africa. Earlier, SA were bowled out for paltry 69 and England scored it with ease without losing wickets in just 14 overs. Overall, SA won 5, lost 2 and in their league match, overpowered Indian women. India on the other hand had a poor start – won 3 lost 3 – 1 no result.
On 2.11.2025, rain delayed DY Patil Stadium at Navi Mumbai – things were totally different. India played really well. Score card reads : India 298 for 7 (Shafali 87, Deepti 58, Mandhana 45, Ghosh 34, Khaka 3-58) beat South Africa 246 (Wolvaardt 101, Dercksen 35, Deepti 5-39, Shafali 2-36) by 52 runs.
Shafali Verma capped an extraordinary week with an extraordinary display in the final: 87 off 78 balls to set up a total of 298 for 7, and two wickets of characteristic cheek at a crucial juncture in a chase that threatened more than once to turn into a nailbiter. Deepti Sharma, a world-class offspinner who has raised her batting to a new level this year, backed up a run-a-ball half-century with a five-wicket haul that combined old-school overspin with new-age defensive skills. India won by 52 runs, and that margin disguised how much tension this final contained.
South Africa's captain Laura Wolvaardt, made the chase possible with a grand century 101 off 98 balls, miscuing Deepti high into the Navi Mumbai night. Nadine de Klerk, the match-winner in the league-stage meeting between these teams, kept faint hopes alive with her hitting, and when Harmanpreet Kaur took a brilliant catch, it was great moment defined for the Indian Team.
To recap :
·
On 25th June 1983 at
Lords, Kapil Dev stunned Cricket World beating mighty West Indies by 43 runs.
·
On Sept 24 2007 at Johannesburg, MS
Dhoni assembled young brigade winning the inaugural T20 WC beating Pakistan by
5 runs
·
On 2nd Apr 2011 at
Wankhede, MS Dhoni lifted 50 overs WC by beating Srilanka by 6 wickets
·
On june 29, 2024, Rohit Sharma beat
SA by 7 runs at Bridgetown Barbados.
o Moving from recent times - Rahul Dravid was the head coach for India during the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was his final assignment with the team. Dilsher Khanna !! was the team manager for the tournament.
o In 2011, Gary Kirsten was the Head Coach and Ranjib Biswal was the manager
o In 2007 – it was Lalchand Rajput who was the Coach and Administrative Manager
o
During 1983, there was no role for
Coach. PR ManSingh who had represented
Hyderabad in Ranji was the administrative Manager.
Back in Feb 1994, Ravi Shastri (80 tests / 150 Odis) was the captain, when Amil Mazumdar made his debut and made 260; with centuries from Jatin Paranjpe (played 4 ODIs); Ravi Shastri, Samir Dighe (6 tests / 23 ODIs) – the debutant was to make 30 centuries and 60 fifties toalling over 11000 yet was never picked despite being a Mumbaiakar.
Ages ago, Amol Muzumdar was padded up and next man in
for Shardashram English school when Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli had their
world-record 664-run partnership. He was
promptly hailed the next big thing from the Bombay school of batsmanship. In
1994 he was vice-captain of India under-19s, and played alongside Sourav
Ganguly and Rahul Dravid for India A. He
led Mumbai to Ranji triumph, and in 2009
after being left out of the Buchi Babu tournament, Muzumdar announced he
would play for Assam in the next Ranji Trophy season. He spent five years as a
professional cricketer in Assam and Andhra before retiring from first-class
cricket in 2014. Amol Muzumdar was appointed as the head coach of the Indian
women’s cricket team in October 2023.
Now he is credited to the winning ways and force behind Indian Women winning ICC World Cup 2025
The contingent is bigger - Aavishkar Salvi is a former Indian cricketer who represented Mumbai and played for Delhi Daredevils is the bowling coach. Munish Bali who has been with the Indian women's senior side since 2022 is the fielding coach. Ashok Iyengar Harrsha is a performance, Strength & Conditioning (S&C) coach; Aniruddha Desphande is Performance Analyst; Harini Murali is the team doctor; Rakhi V Darne is head sports physiotherapist; Akanksha Satyavanshi is team physio alongside Dhananjay Kaushik & Purva Kate, Mamta Shrisulla – Masseurs
Well done
Team India – and appreciations to Amol Muzumdar
Regards – S Sampathkumar
3.11.2025
What a fantastic recap of India's journey to victory! It's amazing how they turned things around after a shaky start. The details about Shafali and Deepti's performances really highlight their incredible talent. It's also interesting to see the evolution of coaching roles over the years. Speaking of strategy, sometimes I feel like solving a cricket match is as complex as a sudoku puzzle. I find that focusing intensely on those little number grids actually helps me clear my head and approach challenges with a fresh perspective.
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