Champions Mumbai stamped their commanding authority in the grand finale of the Women’s Under-23 One Day Trophy 2024-25, delivering a dominating performance to outclass opposition Madhya Pradesh by a hefty margin of 113 runs to clinch the title.
Batting first at the ACA Cricket Academy Ground in Fulung, Guwahati, Mumbai posted a formidable total, propelled by a disciplined and equally contributed batting effort from the top-order and the middle order.
Following which, in the second innings, their bowlers rose to the occasion, dismantling Madhya Pradesh’s entire batting lineup with precision and intensity in no time. The victory was a testament to Mumbai’s all-round dominance throughout the league stage of the tournament, as they held their nerve on the biggest stage to etch their name in glory with a clinical display in the final.
Mumbai, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, aimed to put runs on the board in the high-stakes encounter. Openers Ira Jadhav and Riya Chaudhari were slow yet steady during the powerplay overs, cautiously rotating the strike while adding 36 runs without any damage caused during the first 10 overs. However, their partnership stand was broken soon after the fielding restrictions were eased off, opening the door for Madhya Pradesh to fight back in the contest.
Despite brief contributions from Sanika Chalke (20) and Mansi (33), Mumbai suffered a sudden collapse, slipping from a strong 75/1 to a vulnerable 75/3. Captain Khushi was unable to make an impact, scoring just a run-a-ball 10 before getting out cheaply. Simran Shaikh contributed some useful runs later in the innings, with a quick 32 off 31 balls, but Mumbai’s innings were brought to a close in 46.1 overs at 219.
Madhya Pradesh leaked as many as 25 extras, bonus runs which strengthened Mumbai’s total. Among the bowlers, Sanskriti Gupta was the pick of the lot, taking three wickets in her full share of 10 overs for 58 runs.
Arriving at the chase in the second innings, the Madhya Pradesh batters could not gain any kind of momentum, and none could develop any match-building partnerships as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Barring skipper Soumya Tiwari, who battled at one end with a gritty 59 off 98 balls, and opener Shreya Dixit, who scored 13 runs, no other batter could even cross double-digit scores.
Mumbai’s disciplined bowling attack kept relentless pressure, bundling Madhya Pradesh out for just 106 in 36.2 overs. Mansi was the star of the day, earning the well-deserved Player of the Match award for her outstanding all-round performance—scoring a crucial 33 runs with the bat and delivering a sensational spell of 2 wickets for just 4 runs in 3.2 overs.
Accompanists Sanika Chalke, Yayati, and Kashish also played key roles, chipping in with two wickets each to seal Mumbai’s emphatic 113-run victory and the championship title.
Leading to the final, Mumbai overcame Maharashtra in Semi-final 2 by 3 runs and Uttarakhand by 22 runs in the Quarter-Final. Belonging to Group F, Mumbai won all 5 of their matches and had an unbeaten tally of 20 points with a net-run-rate of 2.383.
Riya Chaudhari from Mumbai was the second top run-scorer of the tournament, scoring 472 runs in 7 innings at an average of 78.67, with 4 half-centuries at a strike rate of 88.72, while Akshaya Shinde was their leading wicket-taker, striking 14 from 6 outings, maintaining an economy rate of 4.09.
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