Mid-Day Anniversary: Jemi’s Jamming It, India’s Winning It!

Mumbai-based Team India batter Jemimah Rodrigues, 25, is a personality with multiple traits. As a kid, she began wielding her hockey stick successfully at inter-school competitions and state-level meets before switching it for another piece of wood, a cricket bat, again successfully at that. There’s another piece of wood that she melodiously switches to, and that’s her guitar, which has ensured this Indian women’s cricket team are stringing together their success story.

Jemimah is clearly the flag-bearer of keeping things cool in Indian women’s cricket, while sweating and even shedding a few tears in between. forestarrow.help

From breaking down emotionally after playing the “innings of a lifetime” — an unbeaten 134-ball 127 — as the hosts and eventual world champions conquered the mighty Australians in the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final at Navi Mumbai, to jumping with joy after India’s 270-run win over England in the first ever women’s Test in 142 years at the iconic Lord’s, Jemimah has had some serious fun en route. And that’s the reason, in this interview with mid-day, she insists that off-field aspects like team dinners, team bonding activities, karaoke nights, and even social media reel-making are crucial for on-field success.

Edited excerpts from the interview

Could you tell us what this Indian team does to chill?
We do have quite a few team dinners usually, and that’s when it depends on what the theme is. So, we either just go out to a nice place and talk or there are some fun games arranged there and we play and do this fun stuff which definitely helps the team bond better. Also, sometimes we just go out, like recently what we did as a team bonding thing was we went out to play Paintball. Battling around that Paintball pitch was so much fun.

We know you are brilliant at the guitar. So how do you guys plan these jam sessions? Is it you who initiates them and are your teammates always ready to sing along?
Usually, I bring my guitar along for say maybe a long bus journey. But sometimes it’s just very spontaneous or maybe while we’re having a team dinner and if there’s something like a karaoke or maybe if I’m asked to play the guitar, I go for it.

Jemimah with Smriti Mandhana

Tell us about the fun reels you and your teammates make on social media.
Every player has her own social media platform so they have their own way of putting their stuff out there. If we do it as a team, it’s always spontaneous, so nobody plans anything. We find something cool, something funny, and we end up saying, ‘Hey guys, do you want to do this?’ and that’s how we simply come together and do it.

Coach Amol Muzumdar is known to be quite the serious type. What do you guys do when you have to make him laugh or lighten the atmosphere around him?
I think people generally tend to assume that Amol sir is quite the serious type, but he actually loves having fun. In fact, he’s the one who is super-enthu when it comes to team bonding sessions and getting the team together. He enjoys his team bonding sessions and loves it when everyone is just having fun and having a good time.

International cricket comes with its fair share of pressures and more so at a World Cup or at your recent Test at Lord’s. How do you guys strike that balance between work and play?
While playing international cricket, one thing’s for sure, there’s always going to be pressure. But you’ve got to enjoy the pressure because what’s the fun if there’s no pressure? So, even as a team, we try and embrace pressure, enjoy it, have some fun in between, it’s important to have that balance between being too focused and too serious, or having too much fun as well. So, somewhere in between, you strike that balance and that’s what comes with being a professional cricketer. You know how and when to strike that balance and you know how to enjoy your cricket and the pressure along with it.

Jemimah with Arundhati Reddy (left) and Shreyanka Patil (right)

Being someone who values all formats of the game, what did this Lord’s Test win mean to you?
Just to realise, for a young girl, to be a part of such a historic Test which is being played at Lord’s after 140-odd years, felt extremely special. It was way beyond whatever I could’ve ever dreamt of or asked for. Irrespective of the result — if you just keep the result aside for some time — just to know that you’re a part of history, a part of a historic event at Lord’s, I mean, who gets to play a Test match at Lord’s and win it too? So, just imagining it was nice, and winning it feels great. I will always hold that Test match close to my heart.

For a young girl like you, coming from suburban Mumbai, dreaming big and winning the World Cup title and now achieving Test success at the iconic Lord’s, what’s your message to India’s young girls?
Everything starts with a dream. My message to India’s young girls is dream big, because the best part about dreams is that there’s no limit. So, the best thing they can do is just dream as much as possible, and then go out there and do whatever it takes to achieve that dream. Also, one last thing, I’d like to advise everyone that while chasing your own dreams, help someone else achieve theirs because, trust me, there’s no bigger satisfaction in life than that!

127 not out
Jemimah’s match-winning score against Australia in the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final at Navi Mumbai

MSG Vs TRE Match Prediction: The Hundred Men’s 2026 will be the sixth season of this unique tournament. Nowhere else in the world do we see a top-level cricket competition that deviates from the game’s standard formats. But here, rather than each team playing 10 or 20 overs, both innings last for just 100 deliveries.

The Manchester Super Giants are one of three teams this season whose names have been changed after being acquired by an IPL owner. Formerly the Manchester Originals, the Manchester-based side has never won The Hundred Men’s tournament, but has reached the final twice. In 2025, they finished sixth on the points table.

The Super Giants won their first game of the season, defeating the London Spirit. They then made it two wins in a row with a triumphant victory over the Birmingham Phoenix. In their third game, the Super Giants suffered their first loss of the season, losing to the Sunrisers Leeds.

On the other hand, the Trent Rockets are one of only three teams to have ever won The Hundred Men’s competition, having had a triumphant campaign in 2022. They have also made it to the playoffs on two further occasions. One of them was in 2025, when they reached the final, only to lose to the team now called MI London.

The Rockets lost their opening game of the season to the London Spirit. They bounced back with a win over the London Spirit in their next game, before making it two wins in a row with a win over the Welsh Fire.

MSG Vs TRE Match Prediction Date and Time:

• Date: Friday, July 31, 2026
• Time: 11:00 PM (IST); 06:30 PM (local time)
• Venue: Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester

MSG Vs TRE Live Streaming: How To Watch

The Manchester Super Giants Vs Trent Rockets Match 14 of the 2026 The Hundred Men’s 2026 will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network on TV in India. It will be live-streamed on the JioHotstar app and website on mobiles, laptops, and other streaming devices.

MSG Vs TRE Team; Full Squads:

Manchester Super Giants Full Squads:

Aiden Markram (C), Max Holden, Leus du Plooy, Tawanda Muyeye, Jos Buttler (wk), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Tim Seifert (wk), Tom Moores (wk), Paul Walter, James Sales, Liam Dawson, Noor Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, Sonny Baker, George Scrimshaw, Adam Finch

Trent Rockets Full Squads:

Sam Billings (C)(wk), Finn Allen, Ben Duckett, Ben Mayes, Tom Banton (wk), Aneurin Donald (wk), Louis Kimber (wk), Tim David, Dan Mousley, Craig Overton, Lewis Gregory, Ben Raine, Mitchell Santner, Danny Briggs, Matt Henry, Mohammad Amir, Brad Currie, Ben Sanderson

Manchester Super Giants Vs Trent Rockets Prediction T20Is: Head-to-Head

• Matches Played: 06
• Manchester Super Giants Won: 01
• Trent Rockets Won: 05
• No Result: 00
• First Played: August 15, 2021 (TRE)
• Last Played: August 19, 2025 (TRE)

MSG Vs TRE Toss Update

*To be updated after the toss*

MSG Vs TRE Team; Predicted XIs:

Manchester Super Giants Predicted XI:

Aiden Markram (C), Tim Seifert, Jos Buttler (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Leus du Plooy, Tom Moores, Liam Dawson, Gus Atkinson, Noor Ahmad, Josh Tongue, Sonny Baker

Trent Rockets Predicted XI:

Ben Duckett, Finn Allen, Tom Banton, Sam Billings (C)(wk), Tim David, Lewis Gregory, Mitchell Santner, Craig Overton, Calvin Briggs, Mohammad Amir, Matt Henry

MSG Vs TRE Match 14 The Hundred Men’s 2026 Old Trafford Cricket Ground Pitch Report

A properly balanced ground, the pitches at the historic Old Trafford Cricket Ground provide a fine battle between bat and ball. On tracks where bowling is more supported, the grass on the surface provides fast bowlers with proper conditions to dominate the early game, especially in the first inning. Halfway through the first inning, the batter came back into play. At some point in the second inning, even the spinner joins the action. As for the dimensions, the square boundaries are smaller, around 65m. The straight boundaries are much longer, over 70m and can even go up to 75-76m.

MSG Vs TRE Match 14 Weather Forecast

It will be a fine evening to play cricket in Manchester. The skies will be partly cloudy throughout the day with a minimal chance of rain. At the time of the match, the temperatures will be in the low-to-mid 10s. The winds will be moderate, and so will be the humidity, by British standards in the summer.

MSG Vs TRE Match 14 The Hundred Men’s 2026 Match Trent Rockets Prediction: 3 Players To Watch Out For

The 3 players to watch out for in the MSG Vs TRE 2026 The Hundred Men’s 2026 Match 14 are:

• Manchester Super Giants wicketkeeper/batter Jos Buttler
• Trent Rockets batter Ben Duckett
• Manchester Super Giants all-rounder Liam Dawson

Manchester Super Giants Vs Trent Rockets Prediction: Who Will Win Today’s Match 14?

For the MSG Vs TRE 2026 The Hundred Men’s 2026 Match 14 Prediction, Manchester Super Giants will defeat Trent Rockets in Match 14 of The Hundred Men’s 2026.

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Johannesburg [South Africa], July 31 (ANI): Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Pholetsi Moseki brimmed with hope and excitement as the brand identity and host venues for the 2027 ODI Cricket World Cup were unveiled in Johannesburg on Thursday.

A grand ceremony in Johannesburg unveiled the 12 venues that will host next year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, with eight cities from South Africa, three from Zimbabwe and Namibia’s capital Windhoek selected as tournament locations. The marquee 50-over tournament will return to Africa after 24 years, with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia set to host the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. The continent previously staged the eighth edition of the tournament in 2003, when South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya served as co-hosts.

The 14th edition of the World Cup will feature the world’s top 14 teams and will be driven by the theme ‘Three Nations, One Heartbeat’, celebrating the shared spirit, diversity and community values of the three host nations. Embracing the African philosophy of ‘Ubuntu’ — meaning “I am, because we are" — the tournament aims to highlight compassion, unity and human connection. Aligned with the ‘Make the Circle Bigger’ vision, the 2027 World Cup will showcase Africa’s rich cultural diversity, including its many traditions, 29 officially recognised languages and a wide range of identities that come together through cricket.

Speaking during the ceremony on Cricket South Africa (CSA) Instagram page, Moseki said, “Well, it is taken us a while to get here, but we are hoping to finally get the country excited. We are hoping to get the African continent excited. We are hoping to get the world excited, you know. So it is really, really quite big, it is quite important, you know. But it is really the start of our marketing campaign for the World Cup itself. So hoping the country will get behind it and everyone will start getting excited about the event, about South Africa and Zimbabwe and Namibia hosting the world next year."

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A post shared by Proteas Men (@proteasmencsa)

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A post shared by Proteas Men (@proteasmencsa)

South Africa will host games at eight venues, including Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, SuperSport Park in Centurion, Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban, St George’s Park in Gqeberha, Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, Boland Park in Paarl and Buffalo Park in KuGompo City (formerly East London), according to the ICC website.

Zimbabwe will stage matches at Harare Sports Club in Harare, Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls, while Namibia’s capital Windhoek will host games at the Namibia Cricket Ground.

South African cricket legends Graeme Smith, Makhaya Ntini, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada, ICC World Test Championship-winning captain Temba Bavuma along with Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza and Namibia’s Rudolf Jansen van Vuuren, were present at the unveiling ceremony.

The tournament’s visual identity is built around a single geometric design inspired by the African wire bowl, incorporating a vibrant palette featuring colours such as Zimbabwe Chilli, African Root, Fynbos Pop, Namib Dune, Harare Dawn and Two Oceans.

Since co-hosting the 2003 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, South Africa has gone on to stage several major ICC events, including the inaugural ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2007, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023, the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cups in 2020 and 2024, and the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023. Zimbabwe, which also co-hosted the 2003 World Cup, will return as a host nation, while Namibia will stage its first-ever senior ICC event. Both countries recently hosted the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup earlier this year.

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 will feature 57 matches and introduce a new three-stage format aimed at increasing competitiveness, adding context to games and providing fans with a more engaging tournament experience.

The tournament will begin with a Super Series involving the three lowest-ranked teams (12th to 14th), who will compete in a round-robin format. The winner will advance to the next stage.

The following round will feature 12 teams split into two groups of six, with each side playing a round-robin schedule. The top three teams from each group, along with the best fourth-placed team across the two groups, will qualify for the Super 7 stage.

The Super 7 phase will consist of 21 round-robin matches, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. The table-toppers will face the fourth-placed team, while the second-ranked side will meet the third-placed team for a place in the final. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

India pace bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur hailed former Mumbai and India captain Ajinkya Rahane for his character and commitment, saying he will miss his 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy-winning captain on the field.

Rahane, 38, who scored 5077 runs in 85 Tests, besides playing 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is, announced his retirement on Thursday.

Thakur, who played a crucial role in helping skipper Rahane beat Australia in the 2020-21 series, claiming a match haul of seven wickets and scoring 67 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test at Brisbane, credited Rahane for helping Team India bounce back on a tough tour Down Under. “We had that unfortunate game [first Test at Adelaide in December 2020] to start with, where we were 36 all out and lost badly [by eight wickets]. But the way we bounced back and the way Ajinkya handled things was incredible. That was a massive series [Border-Gavaskar Trophy] and a different kind of challenge, where we were one game down with three to go,” Thakur, who has claimed 131 scalps in 85 international games so far, told mid-day on Thursday.

“I feel Ajinkya stepping into Virat Kohli's shoes [then skipper Kohli missed the last due to paternity leave] was massive because Virat is a giant and led Indian Test cricket from the front. He was literally carrying the Test team on his own and had brought in a lot of changes. He brought in that attitude of going on overseas tours and winning. So, when he was away, Ajinkya had to step in for the rest of the series,” said Thakur, 34, adding that Rahane deserved a chance to play 100 Tests.

“I will miss Ajinkya on the field because his commitment towards the game every team he played for was immense. I see a lot of youngsters coming in, especially in Mumbai, and for them, Ajinkya could be a wonderful role model to watch and follow. He deserved the 100-Test mark because players who’ve played over 80-85 games have earned it. It’s unfortunate he didn’t get to this 100,” Thakur signed off.

Buenos Aires [Argentina], July 31 (ANI): Argentina President Javier Milei’s government has issued a new decree, barring foreigners from inciting hatred against Argentina and its citizens and allowing their deportation from the country.

The French network Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) reported the decree, which still needs a review from the Parliament, and it targets foreigners who spread “messages of hatred, whether spoken or written, or incite violence against the Argentine people as a whole, or against any Argentine citizen because of their nationality".

This comes amid immense criticism of Argentina’s football team in their runners-up finish in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup, with the on-field behaviour of players Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina in the final against Spain, which involved physical altercations with the opponents, being under the scanner. FIFA has launched disciplinary proceedings against both players and assistant coach Roberto Ayala for their behaviour in the title clash.

Argentina team is also under fire for displaying inappropriate political messaging, including reference to the Falkland Islands, which are claimed by the country as Islas Malvinas but are controlled by the UK. Following their win over England in the semifinal, players held a giant banner reading, “Las Malvinas son Argentinas", translating to “The Malvinas Islands are Argentinian".

AFA is also under the scanner and has been hit with investigations for allegations of racial abuse.

To justify their decision, the Argentine government cited what they described as “recent displays of hostility against the Republic of Argentina and Argentines". Milei did not spell out these displays directly. In recent days, he did speak about an ‘anti-Argentine campaign’ after the FIFA World Cup.

During the diplomatic tensions with Brazil, he also accused the Brazilian and Mexican governments and the US Democratic Party of funding a campaign against Argentina, without providing any evidence.

“Whoever attacks the Republic of Argentina is not welcome in our country," Milei affirmed as quoted by Goal.com.

The decree emphasises that its measures do not cover ideological disagreements or political, academic or civil criticism, since the constitution guarantees these as rights to the people.

The future of the decree remains undecided. It was issued as a “decree of necessity and urgency" and will face Parliamentary committee review before it reaches the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, and will not fall unless both chambers reject it together. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)