The sixth match of the T20 India Nippon Cup was played between Sheen Sports and Heron Sports at Samprasiddhi Sports Estadio, Bangalore, on January 6, in the afternoon.
Divya Gnananand, captain of Heron Sports, won the toss and elected to bat first. Opening bat and captain of Heron Sports Divya Gnananand got off the mark with a boundary in the very first over that was bowled by off-spinner Deepti Sharma. However, Sharma came back strong and saw the back of Divya. It was a sharp catch taken by wicket-keeper Prathyoosha. With the captain back in the hut in the very first over, it was important for Heron Sports team to gather themselves and put up a competitive score on board. The other opener Shubha Satish (18) and number three batter Akshaya S (25) looked good during their 36-run partnership, but Satish was run out, unfortunately.
Coming in at number four Minnu Mani, got off to a start as she scored 20 off 21 hitting four boundaries, but failed to capitalize on the start. Heron Sports kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Towards the end, the efforts of wicket-keeper bat Sanjana Bhatni (13) and Vandana Mahajan (14) helped Heron Sports to go beyond the 100-run mark. For Sheen Sports, it was Ellutla Padmaja, who was the pick of the bowlers, as she scalped 3-10 in her four overs.
After the end of the first innings, it started raining and it was unlikely that the match would resume. After waiting for quite some time, the officials called off the match. Sheen Sports and Heron Sports secured one point each. With this, Sheen Sports having pocketed five points in three games sits right at the top of the table, while Heron Sports, who has not won a single match so far, is at the bottom.
Both the teams will play their next match on Friday at the same venue. Sheen Sports will play against Kini RR Sports, while Heron Sports will lock horns against Ameya Sports.
Brief Scores: Heron Sports 102 all out in 19.2 overs (Akshaya S 25, M Mani 20; E Padmaja 3-10) against Sheen Sports
Points Table
Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No result | Points | Net run rate |
1 | Sheen Sports | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | +0.830 |
2 | Kini RR Sports | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.017 |
3 | Ameya Sports | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.493 |
4 | Heron Sports | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -0.133 |
Updated after Match 6
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.