The defending champions, Mussoorie Thunders, led by skipper Amisha Bahukhandi, were up against Pithoragarh Hurricanes, led by skipper Mansi Joshi, for a fresh start in the tournament opener of the 2nd season for the Women’s Uttarakhand Premier League (WUPL) 2025 on 23rd September.
The expectations were high from the defending champions, as skipper Amisha Bahukhandi won the toss and opted to bat first against the Hurricanes. However, the Mansi Joshi-led side sprung up a surprise courtesy of phenomenal consistency, in terms of lines and lengths from the bowlers, to wrap up the Mussoorie Thunders innings to just 91 with a ball to spare.
The 24-run 4th wicket partnership between Shagun Chaudhary and the opening batter, Reena Jindal, was the highest partnership of the innings for the Thunders, which played a crucial role as they inched closer to the 100-run mark before getting bundled out. Reena Jindal (24 off 37 balls) was the only batter who looked settled for Mussoorie. Kanchan Parihar (11 off 11 balls) and Shagun Chaudhary (12 off 15 balls) chipped in with handy contributions with the bat for their side.
Rudra Sharma (3-0-11-2), Isha Guleria (3-0-15-2), skipper Mansi Joshi (2-1-3-1), and Ananya Mehra (3.5-0-14-1) were exceptional with the ball for Pithoragarh Hurricanes, not letting the opposition batters score freely.
Chasing a total of 92, on what seemed a challenging surface, the Hurricanes opening batters, Ananya Mehra and Manisha Kunwar, took their time to assess the conditions on offer, while also ensuring they didn’t get too bogged down in the run chase, with a confident 27-run opening stand. Skipper Amisha Bahukhandi took the matter into her own hands to provide the first breakthrough for her side in the powerplay by sending Manisha Kunwar (17 off 21 balls) back to the pavilion.
Nandini Kaushik joined Ananya Mehra at the crease, and the pair almost took them to the brink of a memorable win with a decisive 54-run stand for the 2nd wicket. The Thunders struck twice to remove a well-set Ananya Mehra (35 off 39 balls), followed by Muskan Kumari (2 off 5 balls), to give some hope for their side.
However, Nandini Kaushik (31* off 34 balls), alongside the wicket-keeper batter Muskan Khan (5* off 3 balls), ensured Pithoragarh Hurricanes got over the line with 7 wickets in hand and three overs to spare to kickstart their campaign in the 2nd edition on a high. Skipper Amisha Bahukhandi (4-1-23-2) and Dimpal Kandari (4-0-11-1) were the only wicket-takers with the ball for Mussoorie Thunders.
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