Team D, led by skipper Saika Ishaque, were up against Team E, led by skipper Shubha Satheesh, in the 5th match of the 2024-25 Senior Women’s One Day Challenger Trophy, while Team A, led by skipper Shafali Verma, was up against Team C, led by skipper Sneh Rana, in the 6th match of the tournament at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College in Chennai.
Kanika Ahuja’s all-round show guides Team D to a comfortable victory
Team D openers Anushka Sharma and Vrushali Bhagat got their side off to a cautious start with a 36-run opening partnership after the opposition skipper Shubha Satheesh won the toss and inserted them to bat first. Amanjot Kaur cleaned up Anushka Sharma in the 10th over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for Team E.
Vrushali Bhagat departed after another cautious 25-run stand between her and Reema Sisodia to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the Shubha Satheesh-led side. Kanika Ahuja joined Reema Sisodia at the crease and the pair capitalised on the platform provided by the top-order by stitching a massive 105-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 150-run mark. Amanjot Kaur returned and cleaned up Reema Sisodia (61 off 79 balls) to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side. She completed her well-deserved half-century before getting dismissed.
Team D eventually posted a decent total of 263/7 in their quota of 50 overs. The 54-run 6th wicket partnership between Monika Patel and Laxmi Yadav played a crucial role in helping their side surpass the 260-run mark. The top order made a significant contribution of around 62% to the team’s total. Kanika Ahuja (65 off 60 balls) top-scored with the bat for Team D, alongside wicket-keeper batter Laxmi Yadav (40* off 33 balls), who chipped in with a crucial unbeaten cameo.
Amanjot Kaur (9-1-40-3), Kranti Gaud (10-0-47-1), Yamuna Rana (6-0-38-2), and Vasavi Akhila Pawani (8-1-41-1) were the star performers with the ball for Team E.
Chasing a target of 264, Team E openers Nandini Kashyap and skipper Shubha Satheesh got their side off to a promising start with a 54-run opening partnership. Shuchi Uapdhyay picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Subha Satheesh (34 off 37 balls) in the 11th over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for Team D. The Saika Ishaque-led side stormed back into the contest as they packed up a couple of wickets in quick succession.
Ayushi Soni joined Shweta Sehrawat at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 55-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side closer to the 120-run mark. Skipper Saika Ishaque broke a crucial stand by picking up the wicket of Shweta Sehrawat to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. Team E was eventually restricted to 223/9 in their quota of overs, as a result, falling 40 runs short of the target. Ayushi Soni stayed unbeaten on a well-made half-century (61* off 90 balls) and was the top scorer with the bat for her side alongside the likes of Shweta Sehrawat (34 off 53 balls) and wicket-keeper batter Nandini Kashyap (26 off 41 balls) with the bat for Team E.
Sushree Dibyadarshini (10-0-36-3), was the stand-out performer with the ball, alongside skipper Saika Ishaque (10-2-42-1), Shuchi Uapdhayay (10-1-27-1), and Kanika Ahuja (8-0-38-2) with the ball for her side. Kanika Ahuja was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round performance. She scored a crucial half-century (65 off 60 balls) with the bat and returned with match figures of 8-0-38-2 in her spell with the ball for her side.
Skipper Shafali Verma’s all-round prowess guides Team A to a convincing victory
Team C openers Vrinda Dinesh and Tripti Singh got their side off to a solid start with a 48-run opening partnership after their skipper Sneh Rana won the toss and opted to bat first. Arundhati Reddy picked up the wicket of Vrinda Dinesh to provide the first breakthrough for Team A. The Shafali Verma-led side bounced back with a couple of quick wickets in the form of Tripti Singh and Riya Chaudhary.
Henrietta Pereira joined wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 46-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark. Skipper Shafali Verma cleaned up the wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia (31 off 39 balls) to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. Skipper Sneh Rana joined Henrietta Pereira at the crease and the pair capitalised on the momentum and built another crucial 61-run 5th wicket partnership to take their side closer to the 170-run mark.
Sanskriti Gupta picked up the wicket of Henrietta Pereira (52 off 88 balls) to provide the 5th breakthrough for Team A. She completed a well-deserved half-century before getting dismissed. Team C were eventually bundled out for 242 in their quota of 50 overs. K P Choudhary (40 off 28 balls), skipper Sneh Rana (35 off 67 balls), and Kashvee Gautam (23 off 22 balls) played their part with the bat for Team C.
Arundhati Reddy (8-0-35-3), skipper Shafali Verma (7-0-29-2), Sanskriti Gupta (5-0-34-2), and Soniya Mendhiya (10-0-44-1) were the top performers with the ball for Team A.
Chasing a target of 243, Team A openers Dhara Gujjar and skipper Shafali Verma got their side off to a power-packed start with an 85-run opening partnership. The duo scored at a rate of over 8 runs an over. Skipper Sneh Rana broke the stand, by removing Dhara Gujjar (30 off 29 balls) in the 11th over of the run chase.
Another vital 55-run partnership between Pragya Rawat and skipper Shafali Verma took their side closer to the 150-run mark, stamping their authority in the run chase. K P Choudhary picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Shafali Verma (87 off 58 balls) to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the Sneh Rana-led side. Shafali Verma yet again fell short of her elusive century by 13 runs.
Team A eventually got over the line with four wickets in hand and 28 balls to spare. The 72-run 5th wicket partnership between T Sarkar (30 off 47 balls) and wicket-keeper batter Shipra Giri (43 off 59 balls) played a crucial part in getting their side over the line. Skipper Sneh Rana (10-1-52-2), Kanchan Nagwani (9.2-2-39-2), and K P Choudhary (8-0-40-2) picked up a couple of wickets each with the ball for Team C.
Skipper Shafali Verma was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational blockbuster show, returning with match figures of 7-0-29-2 in her spell with the ball and scoring a match-defining knock (87 off 58 balls) with the bat for her side.
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