In the ongoing 2024-25 Senior Women’s One Day Challenger Trophy, Team D led by skipper Saika Ishaque were up against Team C led by skipper Sneh Rana in the tournament opener. Team A led by skipper Shafali Verma was up against Team B led by skipper Radha Yadav in the 2nd game of the tournament’s opening day in Chennai.
Monica and Dakshini’s all-round efforts guide Team D to a comfortable victory
Team C got off to a dream start, nipping out a couple of wickets in quick succession of the Saika Ishaque-led side after the opposition skipper Sneh Rana won the toss and opted to field first. Sushree Dibyadarshini joined opening batter Anushka Sharma at the crease and the duo led the recovery with a crucial 51-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Prema picked up the wicket of Anushka Sharma to provide the crucial 3rd breakthrough for Team C.
Sushree Dibyadarshini soon followed her way back to the pavilion to bring the Sneh Rana-led side firmly back into the contest. Simran Shaikh joined Kanika Ahuja at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 33-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark. Simran Shaikh was found short of her crease to provide the 5th breakthrough for Team C.
M Dakshini joined Kanika Ahuja at the crease when their side were in deep trouble at 95/6 in the 27th over of the innings. The pair took their side closer to the 150-run mark with a much-needed 44-run partnership for the 7th wicket. Team D eventually ended up with a decent total of 211/9 in their quota of 50 overs. Vital innings from Monika Patel (48* off 41 balls) took them past the 200-run mark. Anushka Shama (40 off 51 balls), Kanika Ahuja (35 off 68 balls), and M Dakshini (29 off 53 balls) were the other star performers with the bat for Team D. Skipper Sneh Rana (10-2-30-2), Kashvee Gautam (10-1-29-1), and Yashasri (10-1-47-1) were impressive with the ball for Team C.
Chasing a target of 212, Team C got off to a steady start with a 17-run opening partnership between Tripti Singh and Dinesh Vrinda. Skipper Saika Ishaque broke the opening stand by picking up the wicket of Dinesh Vrinda in the 4th over of the run chase. Raghvi Bisht joined Tripti Singh at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 51-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to steady the ship for Team C in the run chase.
Team C was eventually restricted to 191/9 in their quota of overs, as a result, falling 20 runs short of the target. Wicket-keeper batter Riya Chaudhary (45* off 64 balls), Tripti Singh (30 off 42 balls), Raghvi Bisht (27 off 33 balls), and Henrietta Pereira (26 off 42 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Team C. Skipper Saika Ishaque led from the front with her spell (10-2-37-2), along with, Shuchi Uapdhyay (10-1-25-2), Sushree Dibyadarshini (10-0-31-2), and M Dakshini (10-0-38-2), all who picked up a couple of wickets each.
M Dakshini was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive all-round show, scoring (29 off 53 balls) with the bat and returning with impressive match figures (10-0-38-2) in her spell with the ball for her side.
Tanisha Singh wins the battle of the 90s as Team B seal a convincing victory
Team B lost the wicket of Sasthi Mondal in the 2nd over of the innings after skipper Radha Yadav won the toss and opted to bat first. Tanisha Singh joined Jincy George at the crease and the duo led the recovery with a much-needed 67-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. Soniya Mendhiya picked up the wicket of Jincy George to provide the much-needed breakthrough for Team A.
Mita Paul partnered with Tanisha Singh at the crease and the pair laid a solid foundation for a power-packed finish with a massive 111-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, taking their side closer to the 200-run mark. Tanisha Singh completed her well-deserved half-century en route to that partnership. Soniya Mendhiya returned and picked up the crucial wicket of Mita Paul to provide the 3rd breakthrough for the Shafali Verma-led side. She departed after scoring a well-crafted half-century (57 off 74 balls). Team B eventually ended up with a total of 282/8 in their quota of 50 overs.
The pair of Mita Paul and Tanisha Singh contributed a significant amount of 52% of the team’s total. Tanisha Singh (90 off 99 balls) top-scored, falling just 10 runs short of her century. Mita Paul (57 off 74 balls), wicket-keeper batter Mamatha (37* off 24 balls) and Jincy George (37 off 55 balls) all played their part with the bat for Team B. Sonia Mendhiya (10-0-41-3) Simran Dil Bahadur (8-1-43-2), and Arundhati Reddy (9-1-47-0) were the star performers with the ball for Team A.
Chasing a challenging total of 283, Team A openers Dhara Gujjar skipper Shafali Verma got their side off to a flying start with a quick-fire 41-run opening partnership. Saranya Gadwal picked up the wicket of Dhara Gujjar in the 5th over of the run chase to provide a crucial first breakthrough for Team B. T Sarkar joined skipper Shafali Verma at the crease and the duo stitched another massive 104-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 150-run mark.
Saranya Gadwal returned and picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Shafali Verma to provide the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for the Radha Yadav-led side. The skipper fell just 9 runs short of her well-deserved century (91 off 71 balls). Team A threw away a solid start to the run chase after the departure of their skipper as they were eventually bundled out for 244 with 44 balls to spare. As a result, they fell 38 runs short of the target, despite a crucial half-century from the wicket-keeper batter Shipra Giri (51 off 54 balls).
T Sarkar (36 off 40 balls), and Arundhati Reddy (22 off 25 balls) were the other crucial contributors with the bat for Team A. Saranya Gadwal (8.4-0-49-3), and skipper Radha Yadav (8-1-50-3) picked up three wickets each with the ball along with Mita Paul (6-0-19-1) who was impressive with the ball for Team B.
Tanisha Singh was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive innings of 90 off 99 balls with the bat for her side.
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