Team A defeated Team B by 5 runs in the first game of the 2024 Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy and Team C defeated Team D by 7 wickets in the 2nd game of the opening day of the competition.
Team B led by skipper Sneh Rana was up against Team C led by skipper Minnu Mani in the 3rd match of the competition. Team E led by skipper Radha Yadav was up against Team A led by skipper Harleen Deol in the 4th match of the competition.
Pratika’s 70 and T Sarkar’s 3-fer guide Team B to comfortable win
Team B posted a challenging total of 168/6 in their quota of 20 overs after skipper Sneh Rana won the toss and opted to bat first. The 69-run 4th wicket partnership between T Sarkar and Pratika played a crucial role in guiding Team B closer to the 170-run mark. Pratika (70 off 53 balls), Tejal Hasabnis (24 off 15 balls), Nikita Singh (20* off 7 balls), and T Sarkar (21 off 24 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Team B.
Aarati Kedar (4-0-41-4), Yamuna Rana (4-1-16-0), Saranya Gadwal (4-0-34-0), and Titas Sadhu (4-0-43-1) performed reasonably well with the ball for Team C in a run fest.
Chasing a challenging total of 169, the lack of substantial partnerships throughout the innings, cost Team C heavily in the run chase as they were eventually restricted to 135/8 in their quota of overs, as a result, falling 33 runs short of the target. The 41-run 9th wicket partnership between Saranya Gadwal and Aarati Kedar was the highest partnership of the run chase. Saranya Gadwal (28* off 22 balls), Priyanka Bala (18 off 21 balls), Tripti Singh (15 off 5 balls), and Titas Sadhu (14 off 9 balls) were the positives with the bat for Team C.
T Sarkar (4-1-24-3), Sonal Thakur (4-0-18-1), and skipper Sneh Rana (4-0-24-1) bowled brilliantly with the ball for Team B.
Nandini Kashyap and Sajeevan Sajana’s crucial runs secure narrow win
Team A skipper Harleen Deol won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, Team E posted a competitive total of 161/5 in their quota of 20 overs. A massive 82-run 2nd wicket partnership between Ishwari Savkar and wicket-keeper batter Nandini Kashyap contributed to around 51% of the team’s runs. Wicket-keeper batter Nandini Kashyap (60 off 45 balls), completed a brisk half-century, Sajana S (29* off 16 balls), Simran Shaikh (21 off 9 balls), and Ishwari Savkar (36 off 36 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for Team E.
Arundhati Reddy (4-0-41-3), Hani Patel (3-0-18-1), Saika Ishaque (3-0-21-0), and Mita Paul (3-0-21-0) were the stand-out performers with the ball for Team A.
Team A openers Rubia Syed and Priya Punia got their side off to a solid start with a 48-run opening partnership, chasing a total of 162. Sajana S picked up the wicket of Priya Punia, providing the first breakthrough for Team E. A spirited fightback from skipper Harleen Deol and Fatima Jaffer with a 37-run 5th wicket partnership revived the hope for Team A. However, it wasn’t enough for their side as they were eventually restricted to 157/8 in their quota of overs, falling 4 runs short of the target. Skipper Harleen Deol (56 off 39 balls), and Priya Punia (24 off 15 balls) led the scoring for Team A.
Sajana Sajeevan (4-0-33-3), P Naik (4-0-20-1), Mamta Paswan (4-0-23-0), and skipper Radha Yadav (4-0-28-1) were the pick of the bowlers for Team E.
