South Zone and West Zone will go head-to-head in the final round fixtures of the ongoing ’23 Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Twenty20 (T20) Trophy. The game is scheduled for 2nd December 2023 at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, at 11:00 AM Indian Standard Time (IST).
Squads:
South Zone – Shikha Pandey, Ganesh Divya, Neeragattu Anusha, Yuvashri Karthikeyan, Lakshminarayan Nethra, Bhogi Shravani, Purvaja Verlekar, Drishya, Vaishnavi, Anusha Sundaresan, Shabnam Shakil
West Zone – Jemimah Rodrigues, Riya Chaudhari, Humairaa Kaazi, Saima Thakor, Sayali Satghare, Manali Dakshini, Devika Vaidya, Tejal Hasabnis, Bhavna Goplani, Gautami Naik, Jaya Mohite, Yastika Bhatia, Hani Patel, Radha Yadav, Jayshree Jadeja
Players to watch out:
Purvaja Verlekar
The 22-year-old batter had a below par lead-up to the Inter Zonals, accumulating 105 runs, with 44 coming in an inning alone, from 6 Senior Women’s T20 (SWT20) outings. In the Inter Zonals, while Purvaja has twice departed for a golden duck, she also notched up a 28-ball 40 and in her most recent outing registered 18(33). It’ll be expected of her to build on this momentum.
Shikha Pandey
The 34-year-old all-rounder was brilliant for Goa in 6 SWT20 outings, contributing 99 runs, with a highest of 56*, while also picking up 8 wickets. Capitalizing on her form, in the Inter Zonals, Shikha has registered scores of 36(28), 12(10), and 10(17), while producing bowling figures of 1/28, 1/28, 1/11, and 3/3. She’ll be banked on to step up for the side yet again.
Yastika Bhatia
The 23-year-old keeper-batter had a decent run during the Senior Women’s T20 Tournament, accumulating 142 runs, including the highest of 40, from 7 outings. Yastika kicked off her Inter Zonals with 14(17), and though she failed to follow up with a big score in the following game, she notched up a 54(38) in her most recent outing and will be relied upon for another significant score.
Devika Vaidya
The 26-year-old all-rounder picked up as many as 11 wickets from 6 outings in the SWT20 but didn’t contribute much with the bat, barring a few starts. In the Inter Zonals, she continues to be rewarding with the ball, scalping 4 wickets in 3 games, while her struggles with the bat continue, departing on scores of 13(16), 12(16), and 1(3). It’ll be watched if she can convert her starts into significant scores.
Pitch:
The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium dishes a fairly balanced center wicket, but bowlers, especially spinners, hold the advantage. The average score at the venue is in the 90s; however, batters, if they spend enough time in the middle, can switch gears seamlessly.
Weather:
The conditions at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium are expected to be pleasant for the game, despite cloudy skies, as the chances of rain are minimal. The temperature is forecasted to be around 25°C, with light winds and humidity at 70%.
Fantasy playing XI:
Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Humairaa Kaazi, Bhavna Goplani, Purvaja Verlekar, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya, Anusha Sundaresan, Radha Yadav, Saima Thakor, Jaya Mohite
Match details:
Date – December 2, 2023
Time – 11:00 AM IST
Venue – Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Broadcast – Access live scores for all the games of the tournament on BCCI’s match center web portal.
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