Nandini Kashyap’s unbeaten half-century and Neelam Bhardwaj’s all-round show take Mussoorie Thunders into the final of the Uttarakhand Women’s T20 League.
Nanital SG Pipers led by skipper Ekta Bisht defeated Mussoorie Thunders led by skipper Mansi Joshi by seven wickets in the 2nd match of the tournament. Manisha Pradhan was awarded the Player of the Match for her crucial performance with the bat.
Pithoragarh Hurricanes led by skipper Neelam Bisht was up against Mussoorie Thunders in the 3rd match of the season at Dehradun. Mussoorie Thunders skipper Mansi Joshi won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, Pithoragarh Hurricanes got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their opening batter Ananya Mehra in the 2nd over of the innings, with Garima Bisht providing the first breakthrough for Mussoorie Thunders.
Neelam Bhardwaj joined Muskan Kumari at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 66-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to lead the building phase of the innings. Rudra Sharma picked up the wicket of Muskan Kumari (32) to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Raghvi Bist joined Neelam Bhardwaj at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 28-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Sakshi Joshi picked up the wicket of Raghvi Bist to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Mussoorie Thunders. Pithoragarh Hurricanes were restricted to 119/7 in their quota of overs aa they suffered a collapse, losing their next four wickets for just 24 runs.
Neelam Bhardwaj (48 off 44 balls), Muskan Kumari (32 off 33 balls), Jyoti Giri (11 off 8 balls), and skipper Neelam Bisht (11* off 12 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Pithoragarh Hurricanes. Prema Rawat (4-0-16-2), skipper Mansi Joshi (4-1-25-2), Garima Bisht (3-0-15-1), Rudra Sharma (3-0-16-1), and Sakshi Joshi (3-0-22-1) were the top performers with the ball for Mussoorie Thunders.
Chasing a target of 120, the Mussoorie Thunders openers Anjali Goswami and Shagun Chaudhari got their side off to a good start with a 45-run opening partnership. Neelam Bhardwaj picked up the wicket of Shagun Chaudhari (27) to provide the first breakthrough for Pithoragarh Hurricanes. Wicket-keeper batter Nandini Kashyap joined Anjali Goswami at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 57-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark while inching closer to the target.
Safina Aziz picked up the wicket of Anjali Goswami (32) to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Skipper Mansi Joshi joined wicket-keeper batter Nandini Kashyap at the crease and the duo took their side over the line with an unbeaten 19-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Mussoorie Thunders eventually got over the line with 8 wickets in hand and 24 balls to spare.
Wicket-keeper batter Nandini Kashyap (50* off 28 balls), Anjali Goswami (32 off 32 balls), and Shagun Chaudhary (27 off 26 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Mussoorie Thunders. Safina Aziz (3-1-13-1), Neelam Bhardwaj (3-0-15-1), and Anjali Kathait (3-0-17-0) were the top performers with the ball for the Pithoragarh Hurricanes.
Wicket-keeper batter Nandini Kashyap was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant match-winning, unbeaten half-century (50* off 28 balls) with the bat. She played a crucial role in helping her side get over the line and as a result, progress to the final of the inaugural edition of the Uttarakhand Women’s T20 League 2024.
The Thunders will be up against Nanital SG Pipers in the final of the inaugural edition of the Uttarakhand Women’s T20 League 2024 on 21st September 2024 from 7:30 PM IST in Dehradun.