The first game of the Senior Women’s Multi-day Challenger Trophy ended in a draw and the Minnu Mani-led Team A earned those crucial three points courtesy of the fact that they took a first innings lead against Harleen Deol’s Team B. We will have a look at the day-wise dissection of the game as it unfolded at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Dehradun.
Day 1: Arushi Goel and Kanika Ahuja switch their savior mode on for Team B
Team B were in trouble at 258/8 in 97 overs after skipper Harleen Deol won the toss and opted to bat first against the Minnu Mani-led side at the end of the first day’s play in the Senior Women’s Multi-day Challenger Trophy 2025 in Dehradun. Arushi Goel (92 off 210 balls) and Kanika Ahuja (65 off 129 balls) bailed their side out of trouble.
Skipper Minnu Mani (29-10-68-2), Sayali Satghare (16-5-38-2), and Arundhati Reddy (14-5-37-2) picked up a couple of wickets each and were the star performers with the ball for Team A on the 1st day’s play.
Day 2: N Shree Charani strikes back with a 6-fer to derail Team A’s line-up
Team A managed to add 10 runs to their overnight total on the 2nd day’s play as they were bundled out for 268 in 100.2 overs. Arushi Goel (92 off 210 balls), Kanika Ahuja (65 off 129 balls), and Ayushi Soni (57* off 158 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Team B. Tanuja Kanwer (13.2-36-3), skipper Minnu Mani (29-10-68-2), Sayali Satghare (16-5-38-2), and Arundhati Reddy (16-6-41-2) were the stand-out performers with the ball for Team A.
Nallapureddy Shree Charani ran through the Minnu Mani-led side’s batting line-up after the openers Shweta Sehrawat and Shubha Satheesh provided them with a solid 51-run opening partnership. The young 20-year-old left-arm spinner Charani hogged the limelight as she returned with stunning match figures (32-8-79-6). Team A eventually ended the 2nd day’s play at 260/7 in 90 overs, trailing by 8 runs.
Day 3: Arundhati Reddy and Yastika Bhatia scored 50s as Team A take crucial points
The Minnu Mani-led side eventually took a 23-run first innings lead, as they were bundled out for 291 in 101.3 overs. Arundhati Reddy stayed unbeaten on 62 off 127 balls and was one of the stand-out performers with the bat for Team A. Mamta Paswan (8.3-2-27-3) was impressive with the ball alongside Nallapureddy Shree Charani for Team B.
Team B lost their opening batter Pratika Rawal in the first over of their 2nd innings with Sayali Satghare providing the first breakthrough for Team A. Skipper Harleen Deol joined wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 72-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take them closer to the 100-run mark. Priya Mishra got the big wicket of the opposition skipper as she cleaned up Harleen Deol to provide the second breakthrough for her side in the 20th over of the innings.
Team B lost a couple of wickets in quick succession, Priya Mishra returned and accounted for a crucial scalp of the wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia (56 off 74 balls). She completed a well-crafted half-century before getting dismissed. Ayushi Soni yet again showed a lot of promise with the bat, stitching a crucial 42-run 5th wicket partnership alongside Arushi Goel, followed by another vital 26-run partnership for the 6th wicket alongside Mita Paul.
The game eventually ended in a draw, and Minnu Mani’s Team A got away with those crucial three points as they took the first-innings lead. Team B posted 149/6 in 49.4 overs in their 2nd stint with the bat, leading Team A by 126 runs. Wicket-keeper batter Yastika Bhatia (56 off 74 balls), and Ayushi Soni (46* off 68 balls) were the stand-out performers with the bat, while, skipper Harleen Deol (20 off 47 balls), and Arushi Goel (18 off 70 balls) made crucial contributions with the bat for Team B.
Priya Mishra (9-0-33-2), Tanuja Kanwer (8-1-15-0), and Sayali Satghare (6-2-13-1) were the stand-out performers with the ball for Team A, while, skipper Minnu Mani (11-1-37-1), and Shweta Sehrawat (4-1-16-1) played their part with the ball for Team A.
Arundhati Reddy was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive all-round performances in the game. She scored an unbeaten half-century (62* off 127 balls) with the bat and returned with match figures (16-6-41-2, and 4-0-20-0) in her spells with the ball for the Minnu Mani-led Team A.
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