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Anjum Chopra

Chopra in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Anjum Chopra
Born	(1977-05-20)20 May 1977 (age 48) New Delhi,NCT of Delhi,India
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right-armmedium
Role	Batter
International information
National side	India (1995–2012)
Test debut (cap 47)	17 November 1995 v England
Last Test	29 August 2006 v England
ODI debut (cap 42)	12 February 1995 v New Zealand
Last ODI	16 March 2012 v Australia
T20I debut (cap 2)	5 August 2006 v England
Last T20I	23 March 2012 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1992/93–1995/96	Delhi
1996/97–2004/05	Air India
2006/07–2011/12	Delhi
Career statistics
Competition WTest WODI T20I WLA Matches 12 127 18 225 Runs scored 548 2,856 241 5,521 Batting average 30.44 31.38 17.21 35.85 100s/50s 0/4 1/18 0/0 1/34 Top score 98 100 37* 100 Balls bowled 258 601 – 661 Wickets 2 9 – 18 Bowling average 44.00 46.00 – 30.27 5 wickets in innings 0 0 – 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 – 0 Best bowling 1/9 2/9 – 3/11 Catches/stumpings 13/– 33/– 3/– 64/–
Medal record Representing India Women's cricket World Cup Runner-up 2005 South Africa

Anjum Chopra (born 20 May 1977) is an Indian cricket commentator and formercricketer.^[1] She representedIndia in over 150 international matches across formats over 18 years. Chopra was the first woman to reach 1,000 ODI runs for India. Since retirement, Chopra has worked as an English-language commentator covering professional cricket such as theIndian Premier League.

She played various sports at an early age, representing her school and college in athletics, basketball, and swimming. She was also a member of the Delhi State basketball team that competed at nationals.^[1]

Chopra made her debut inone-day internationals at the age of 17, on 12 February 1995 againstNew Zealand atChristchurch, New Zealand, and made her debut inTest cricket a few months later againstEngland atEden Gardens,Kolkata, on 17 November 1995.^[2] In only her second series for India the same year, she was awarded player of the series in the one-day internationals against the visiting England cricket team, scoring at an average of 67.5.

She played as a left-handed batter who bowled right-arm medium pace. She played in 12 Tests, 127 ODIs and 18 T20Is.^[3][4] She was coached bySunita Sharma, Hardeep Dua andTarak Sinha from Sonnet Club.^[5] She was the first woman to score 1,000 runs in ODIs for India.^[6]

Carving out a niche in the male-dominated sport in the country, Chopra has begun to be recognized as the face of women's cricket in India as a player, captain, consultant, commentator, motivational speaker, author, and actor.

Chopra attendedDelhi Public School R.K. Puram. She received her undergraduate degree fromSt. Stephen’s College, Delhi^[7] and completed her Masters in Business Administration fromFORE School of Management with a dual specialisation in Marketing and Human Resources.

Chopra belongs to a family of sportspeople:

• Maternal grandfather Ved Prakash Sahni was an athlete and represented India^{[citation needed]}. He was also a cricket commentator.
• Mother Poonam Chopra has won a Goodyear car rally^{[citation needed]}.
• Brother Nirvan Chopra has representedDelhi state in Under−17 and Under-19 cricket^{[citation needed]}.
• Maternal uncle Rohit Sahni is a former cricketer who captained both Hindu College and Delhi University^{[citation needed]}.

Chopra is also a pet lover who loves to spend time with her dogs at home.

Anjum Chopra is both a Test and One Day International cricketer who represented India's national women's cricket team. She is currently working as a cricket commentator. She made her One Day International debut in 1995 againstNew Zealand atChristchurch. In the first ODI she opened the bowling for India, giving 14 runs in her 4 overs. Going in tobat at No 10 for India, she had a crucial partnership of 11 runs to secure the victory for India.

She made her Test match debut in November 1995 against England inCalcutta. She was sent in as anightwatchman against the English team in her very first Test match for India. Living up to her coach's confidence in her she successfully batted until the next morning until lunch scoring 27 runs for her team.

She was made Vice Captain of the Indian team in2000 ESPNcricinfo World Cup inNew Zealand. With two player of the match awards and the highest scorer from India, Chopra led the batting charts at the World Cup until the Indian team lost in the semi-finals to eventual winners New Zealand.

Chopra was made the Captain of the Indian team in 2002. In her first series as skipper, she led India with 7 debutants to a whitewash win over visiting England side, a record victory. The Indian team's first tour of South Africa saw them record their first overseas Test win, with Anjum Chopra scoring a match-winning 80. Her astute captaincy and using the part-time bowlers got the team 20 South African wickets at Paarl.

In 2005 World Cup in South Africa, India reached the finals of the World Cup for the first time. She was the top scorer from India and was also the Player of the Match against England.

In 2009 World Cup in Australia, in a must-win game for India, Chopra scored 76 match-winning runs and bagged the player of the match award. India finished third at the World Cup behind England and New Zealand.

She has played 6 World Cups for India, including four 50-over World Cups and two T20 World Cups. She is the first player to play 100 ODIs for India. One of the strong fielders on the team and a safe pair of hands, she has held the highest number of slip catches for India.^[8] A right arm medium pace bowler, Chopra made her debut as an all-rounder, opening the bowling in her first ODI and batting at No 10. She is the eighth-highest run-getter in women's ODIs.^[9]

Chopra has batted at almost all positions for her team, including opening, when needed. She has scored against some of the best of bowling attacks in the world, and is known to occupy the crease and bat for long hours. For example, batting in the 2000 World Cup in New Zealand against Ireland, India was reeling at 3 wickets down with 1 run on the board. She played a patient knock of 70 runs and won the match.

She is known to bat well under pressure and has played numerous knocks to perfection to get the victory. A quick runner between the wickets, her ability to convert ones to twos had been an outstanding feature of Chopra's batting style.

In the corporate world, Chopra is a motivational and corporate speaker/consultant. Also an MBA, she has conducted training programs for globally recognised brands such asGeneral Electric,Standard Chartered,Goldman Sachs,Vodafone, and various schools and colleges.

Anjum Chopra is a Delhi native who has played for the state since her Under-15 days. She has also represented Air India (her employers) for domestic matches where she emerged as the most successful skipper for the women's team.

Under her captaincy:

• Delhi state won the National championship in 2012 season, the first time in history that the Delhi women's team has won the national cricket championship.
• Air India won the nationals and zonal championships in both 2002 and 2003.
• Air India was declared as "Best team of the year" in 2003.

The 2011–12 cricket season saw her achieving victories for Delhi State. Captaining the team, Delhi won the national championship for the first time in history of the women's game. She also went on to lead the North Zone team that won the Zonal championships the same year. In the T20 format, Delhi state finished as runner-up, ending the year as the "Best State Team".

• First Indian player to score an ODI century for India.
• First captain to win a Test Series abroad. India won the test match in South Africa in 2002 under her captaincy.
• First captain to win a home series 5–0 whitewash against England in India in 2002^[11]
• First player to play 100 ODIs for India
• First to play 6 World Cups for India (four ODI World Cups and two T20s)
• Only player in modern-day cricket to have played 12 Test matches with ODI and T20s
• First player to get an international appointment when she worked with Cricket South Africa women's team as a technical consultant in 2012–2013
• First female sportscaster and player to commentate on men's cricket matches

Anjum Chopra co-authored the coffee table book titledWomen's Cricket World – A Journey from 1745- 2013. The book showcases the world history of the sport to its present-day under the International Cricket Council.

She has also acted in a docudrama, "Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies". The film received national acclaim at the Arnold Sports Film Festival in Ohio in 2011. It talks about that despite the disparities between men's and women's cricket, the girls are very happy playing the sport and enjoy the camaraderie.^[12][13]

To promote the game, Anjum has also participated in a reality show, Fear Factor 'Khatron ke Khiladi' season 4, aired on the Colors channel. She has also walked the ramp with leading names of the fashion industry promoting the women's game.

Anjum is a commentator/subject expert with Doordarshan and other leading news and sports channels.^[14] Asportscaster she represents women's cricket on television analysing the game from a player's perspective. She has also forayed into other sports, acting as a commentator for theWorld Kabaddi League in 2014 onSony Six.

Anjum Chopra is the first woman cricketer from India to be awarded an honorary life membership of theMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC).^[15]

Anjum was a participant on the reality showFear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 4.^[16]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAnjum Chopra.

• Anjum Chopra onFacebook
• Anjum Chopra atESPNcricinfo

• 1977 births
• Air India women cricketers
• Delhi women cricketers
• India women One Day International cricketers
• India women Test cricketers
• India women Twenty20 International cricketers
• Indian cricket commentators
• Indian women cricket captains
• Indian women cricketers
• Living people
• Recipients of the Arjuna Award
• Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
• Delhi University alumni
• Contestants on Indian game shows
• Participants in Indian reality television series
• Women cricket commentators
• Cricketers from Delhi

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