Pune, previously spelled in English as Poona, is a city in Maharashtra state in the Deccan plateau in Western India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Pune district, and of Pune division. According to the 2011 Census of India, Pune is the ninth-most populous city in India with a population of 3.1 million residents within the city limits, and has a population of 7.2 million residents in the metropolitan region, making it the eight-most populous metropolitan area in India. The city of Pune is part of Pune Metropolitan Region. Pune is one of the largest IT hubs in India. It is also one of the most important automobile and manufacturing hubs of India. Pune is a developing city. Pune is often referred to as "Oxford of the East" because of its highly regarded educational institutions. It has been ranked "the most liveable city in India" several times.
The India women's national cricket team, also known as Women in Blue, represents India in women's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a full member of International Cricket Council (ICC) with Women's Test cricket, Women's One Day International (WODI), and Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) status.
Mithali Dorai Raj is an Indian former cricketer and captain of the India women's national cricket team from 2004 to 2022. She is the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket, and ESPN ranked her as one of the greatest female cricketers of all time. Raj has received several national and international awards, including the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2017, Arjuna Award in 2003, the Padma Shri in 2015, and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021.
Salil Ashok Ankola is a current senior National men's cricket team selector and former international cricketer who played one Test match and 20 One Day Internationals (ODIs) from 1989 to 1997 for India. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, he played first-class cricket for Mumbai, regularly opening the bowling. Ankola's consistency for Mumbai team earned him a spot for representing India during their tour of Pakistan in 1989–90. After the first Test match at Karachi, he was dropped for the subsequent matches in the series owing to injuries. After a brief phase of playing first-class cricket, Ankola was called for the Indian ODI team during 1993, eventually led to being a part of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. His reputation as a poor fielder, resulted in being dropped from the side after subsequent series. At 28, Ankola retired from international cricket to pursue acting. Since then he went on to appear in a number of Indian soap operas and a few Bollywood movies. In 2020, he was selected as the chief selector of the Mumbai Cricket Association. He was a selector of the National team from January 2023 till January 2024.
Dinkar Balwant Deodhar was an Indian cricketer. He played first-class cricket from 1911 to 1948.
Pune FC was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club competed in I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian football history, known mainly for their focus on fanfare, professional playing set-up, and focus on youth development. Pune was owned by Ashok Piramal Group.
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is an international cricket stadium in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is owned and operated by the Maharashtra Cricket Association.
Pune Warriors India were a franchise Twenty20 cricket team that represented the city of Pune in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of two IPL franchises from the Indian state of Maharashtra, the other being Mumbai Indians. It was one of two new franchises added to the IPL for the 2011 season, alongside the also-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The team was owned by Sahara Group Sports Limited, a group company of the Indian business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar. The team's home ground was the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium located in Gahunje, Pune.
Kedar Mahadev Jadhav is an Indian cricketer who plays for Maharashtra, Kolhapur Tuskers and Royal Challengers Bangalore in domestic cricket. He has also played for the Indian national cricket team. He is a right hand batter, who occasionally keeps wickets and bowls right-arm-offspin.
Popular games and sports in Pune include athletics, cricket, basketball, badminton, field hockey, football, tennis, kabaddi, paragliding, kho-kho, rowing and chess. The Pune International Marathon is an annual marathon conducted in Pune. The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games were held in Pune.
Sports play an integral part of culture in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport in the state. Other popular sports include kabaddi and kho kho, which are played in rural areas, and field hockey, badminton, and table tennis, which are more common in urban areas, schools, and colleges. In the state's southern rural regions, annual wrestling championships such as Hind Kesari and Maharashtra Kesari are held. Games like Viti-Dandu and variations of Tag are played among children.
Smriti Shriniwas Mandhana is an Indian cricketer who represents the Indian women's national team. She plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Women's Premier League (WPL). In domestic cricket, she represents the Maharashtra cricket team.
Football Club Pune City was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra, which last participated in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football league system, under licence from AIFF. The club was founded in 2014 during the inaugural season of the Indian Super League, with aims to provide stimulus to the growth and development of football in the state of Maharashtra and to participate in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League.
Vijay Shankar is an Indian cricketer who plays for the Tamil Nadu state cricket team. He is an all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm medium pace. He played for India in 2019 Cricket World Cup, where he became the first Indian to pick up a wicket on the very first ball of his World Cup debut. He plays for Gujarat Titans team in Indian premier league from the year 2022.
Deepti Bhagwan Sharma is an Indian cricketer who plays for Bengal, Birmingham Phoenix and India. She is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls right-arm off break and is currently ranked 3rd in the top all-rounders in the ICC Cricket Rankings. She is also the current third highest individual scorer by a woman cricketer in ODIs.
Rahul Ajay Tripathi is an Indian international cricketer who made his debut for Indian cricket team in January 2023 against Sri Lanka. He also plays for Goa in domestic cricket and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Sachin: A Billion Dreams is a 2017 Indian trilingual documentary sports film directed by James Erskine and produced by Ravi Bhagchandka and Shrikant Bhasi under the banners 200 NotOut Productions and Carnival Motion Pictures. The film is a documentary on the life of Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. It captures Tendulkar's cricket and personal life in substantial detail, as well as reveals a few aspects of his life which have never been heard of or seen before.
Dnyaneshwar Chandrashekhar Agashe was an Indian businessman, cricketer, cricket administrator and philanthropist. He is best remembered for founding the Suvarna Sahakari Bank in 1969, and the scandal following the bank's alleged scam case in 2008. He played first-class cricket for Maharashtra between 1962 and 1968, and served as managing director of the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate from 1986 to 1996. He was twice elected vice president of Board of Control for Cricket in India, serving his second and final term from 1995 to 1999.
Ruturaj Dasharath Gaikwad is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Maharashtra team in domestic cricket and for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his international debut for the India cricket team in July 2021 against Sri Lanka. He was the captain of the India squad which won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2021 IPL season. He is captain of the Maharashtra team in T20 and List A cricket.
Kiran Prabhu Navgire is an Indian cricketer. She currently plays for India women and Nagaland women. She set the record for the highest individual score in Women's Senior T20 Trophy, while scoring an unbeaten 162 for Nagaland against Arunachal Pradesh in 2022. She is the only Indian to score over 150 in a T20 match.
