A total of 37 teams participated in the Senior Women’s One Day Tournament, of which Jharkhand and Railways qualified for the finals.
The final game, held on 4th April, saw the Railways team overpowering Jharkhand as they took them down for a par score of 167 in 50 overs. Off-spinner Sneh Rana’s 3-wicket haul and two scalps each for pacer Meghana Singh and senior-pro Ekta Bisht made it difficult for Jharkhand to stand on the crease for a long time. Poonam Yadav broke her streak after finally taking a wicket after 6 matches.
Jharkhand had lost 3 quick wickets but Indrani Roy and Durga Murmu’s 60-run stand for the fourth wicket helped Jharkhand reach a par score. But after the two losing their wickets, the middle order and bottom order couldn’t do much with the bat. While 3 batters were taken for a duck, almost six batters failed to cross the double-figure mark.
Railways, while chasing, lost their opener Nuzhat Parween for a duck but top-order batters Meghana and Punam Raut stood strong for a 107-runs partnership for the second wicket. Singh’s huge hits and Raut’s in-form batting helped Railways seal the deal. After the two lost their wickets in succession, Rana and Mona Meshram added to the winning runs.
Railways didn’t feel the absence of their power-hitter and opener Thirushkamini. Even the skipper, Mithali Raj, did not get the chance to bat as the top order had clinched the tournament. Rana and Meshram remained unbeaten at the end of the game as their team went on to lift the cup after a massive victory by 7 wickets!
This time, it was Sneh Rana who finished the game off in style as she hit one-six and 3 boundaries in the last four balls of the game. Railways won their 12th Championship Title, out of the 14 tournaments held since inception.
Here are the Winners of the Senior One Day League from its inception in 2006 till today.
Railways have won 12 out of the last 14 Tournaments. #SeniorOneDayTrophy @M_Raj03 pic.twitter.com/yDnba3WwLK
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 4, 2021
Brief Scores
Jharkhand 167 in 50 overs- Indrani Roy 49(77), Sneh Rana 3/33, Ekta Bisht 2/33, Poonam Yadav 1/26
Railways 169/3 in 37 overs- Punam Raut 59(94), Meghana Singh 53(67), Sneh Rana 34*(22)
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I’m a Senior Masters student pursuing Journalism and Mass Communication. An all time Cricket enthusiast. I could never play the game but always loved watching it, and now writing about it!