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167:, Mahendra Kumar Sharma began organising softball and handball tournaments for school and college girls in the city. A team organised by Sharma played at a softball tournament in Hyderabad in 1973. Following the tournament, the girls began playing cricket with the softball bats after witnessing boys playing the sport. This gave Sharma the idea to organise a cricket tournament. He personally traveled around the city in an
214:(IWCC) in 1973, and was recognized by the Government of India in 1978. The first international women's cricket match in India was held on 7 February 1975 against the touring Australian under-25 team. A series of three first-class matches were played in Pune, Delhi and Calcutta. Ujwala Nikam, Sudha Shah and Shreeroopa Bose captained the Indian team in the three matches respectively.
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The WCAI introduced new competitions in 1974. The Rani Jhansi Trophy, an inter-zonal limited overs tournament, was held at Kanpur, and an inter-university tournament was held at Rajkot. Sub-junior and junior tournaments were also introduced for under-15 and under-19 players. The WCAI was granted
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was shifted to India. The WCAI made a successful bid, and served as the primary organiser, with the IWCC providing only limited oversight. Sharma was the WCAI secretary for the first five years of its existence and was responsible for organising the 1978 World Cup.
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became the chairperson and president of the WCAI respectively, alongside founder secretary Sharma. The third edition of the Women's Inter-State
Nationals was held in Calcutta and featured 14 teams. Subsequent editions saw participation from all states in India.
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While women played cricket in various parts of India in the early 1970's, there was no organization governing women's cricket. The first women's cricket club in India, named The Albees, was founded in Mumbai in 1969 by Aloo Bamjee, a member of the
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with a microphone to promote the event. Around 200 people attended the tournament held at the Queen’s Anglo
Sanskrit College in Lucknow in 1973. The attendance encouraged Sharma to establish a women's cricket association.
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in
Bangalore. India won the fourth Test in Patna on 19 November in front of 25,000 spectators, recording its first ever Test match victory. The six Test series ended in a 1–1 draw. India went on its
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201:. The second edition was held in Varanasi in December 1973 and featured eight teams. Following the tournament, the executive committee of the WCAI was reorganised. Chandra Tripathi and
185:. The WCAI organised the Women's Inter-State Nationals in Pune in April 1973. It was the first national-level, interstate women’s cricket competition in the country. Three teams -
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were the president and secretary of the WCAI respectively before the merger. Nutan
Gavaskar, the sister of
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Women's
Cricket and Global Processes: The Emergence and Development of Women's Cricket as a Global Game
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160:. Until 1972, The Albees did not have any opponents and organised matches amongst its 60 members.
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197:- participated in the inaugural edition of the tournament. The Mumbai team was captained by
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The Women's
Cricket Association of India (WCAI) was registered in Lucknow in 1973 under the
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391:"The Unsung Hero Whose Immense Determination Made Cricket a Reality for Women in India"
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toured the country. India played its first Test match on 31 October 1976 at the
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442:"Mahendra Kumar Sharma, one of the pioneers of women's cricket in India, dies"
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543:"AUS-W vs IND-W Cricket Scorecard, Only Test at Perth, January 15 - 17, 1977"
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181:, with Sharma as the founder secretary. The first president of the WCAI was
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468:"FEATURE: Tracing the History of the Women's Cricket Association of India"
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354:"Beyond boundaries: Remembering the 'mother hen' of women's cricket"
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147:. The team is now governed by the BCCI, following the merger.
596:"Remembering Indian women's cricket pioneer Mahendra Sharma"
622:"BCCI finally takes full control of India women's cricket"
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The
Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians
493:"Women's First-Class Matches played by India Women"
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672:"BCCI ignores women's cricket: Nutan Gavaskar"
132:, Uttar Pradesh. The WCAI was merged into the
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277:, was an honorary general secretary of WCAI.
221:in India was held in November 1976, when the
261:(ICC) in 2005, the WCAI was merged into the
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329:"The history of Indian women's cricket"
16:Former sports governing body, 1973–2007
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415:Kumar, P. K. Ajith (9 November 2022).
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141:India women's national cricket team
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63:Mahendra Kumar Sharma
360:. 19 December 2021.
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235:New Zealand
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755:Categories
472:CRICKETher
451:9 November
338:9 November
304:References
231:first tour
68:Founded at
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421:Sportstar
366:0971-8257
239:Australia
45:Formation
281:See also
165:Lucknow
151:History
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79:Defunct
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