Skipper Deepti Sharma’s 6-wicket haul wrestles back the control to East Zone after they conceded a slender first-innings lead in the final against South Zone.
East Zone led by skipper Deepti Sharma handed over all the advantage they had at the end of the first day’s play, as they were bundled out for 129 inside the first 10 overs of the 2nd day’s play, resuming from an overnight score of 108/5 in 34 overs. Courtesy of a horrible collapse, losing their last five wickets for just 21 runs, they only conceded a slender four-run lead in the first innings.
Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (25 off 43 balls), Durga Murmu (23 off 50 balls), skipper Deepti Sharma (22 off 34 balls), and Rizu Saha (22 off 59 balls) were the top performers with the bat for East Zone. Skipper Minnu Mani (15.4-3-47-5), Sunanda Yetrekar (8-1-17-2), and Sajeevan Sajana (4-2-6-2) were the top performers with the ball for South Zone.
After gaining a four-run lead in the first innings, the South Zone batters got off to a positive start, scoring over 6 runs an over in the first three overs in their 2nd attempt with the bat trying to set a total on the board. Monika Das picked up the wicket of Trisha Poojitha to provide the first breakthrough for East Zone.
G Kamalini joined wicket-keeper batter Miriyala Durga at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 41-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before skipper Deepti Sharma picked up the wicket of G Kamalini to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Tamanna Nigam soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for East Zone. Skipper Minnu Mani joined wicket-keeper batter Miriyala Durga at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 61-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Dhara Gujjar picked up the much-needed breakthrough of the wicket-keeper batter Miriyala Durga to provide the 4th breakthrough for East Zone.
South Zone suffered a horrible collapse as they lost their last six wickets for just 46 runs and as a result, were bundled out for 179 in the 71st over of the innings to set an 184-run target for East Zone. Wicket-keeper batter Miriyala Durga (64 off 130 balls), skipper Minnu Mani (31 off 117 balls), and G Kamalini (27 off 47 balls) were the top performers with the bat for South Zone. Skipper Deepti Sharma (25.5-5-61-6), Dhara Gujjar (7-3-7-1), Monika Das (4-1-7-1), and Annapurna Das (9-0-26-1) were the top performers with the ball for East Zone.
Chasing a target of 184, the South Zone openers Uma Chetry and Durga Murmu got off to a cautious start before they lost the wicket of Durga Murmu in the 5th over of the run chase. Arundhati Reddy provided the first breakthrough for South Zone. Dhara Gujjar joined Uma Chetry at the crease and the duo stitched a 17-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Sajeevan Sajana picked up the wicket of Dhara Gujjar to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side in the 14th over of the run chase.
The final of the Senior Women’s Inter Zonal Multi-Day Trophy between South Zone and East Zone is nicely poised in the balance with East Zone at 30/2 in 13.2 overs needing another 154 runs with 8 wickets in hand, going into the final day’s play. Can the South Zone bowlers put up another spirited performance to pull off a heist or will the East Zone batters manage to hold their composure to knock the target down? We will have to wait and see how the final day of the multi-day red-ball tournament turns out to be.