Fresh from a win against India C after their opening encounter, India B led by the dynamic Indian opener Smriti Mandhana came into this game feeling fairly confident and were up against a side which on the contrary were looking for answers from the questions asked from them in their previous game.
It was India’s two exceptional batters Harmanpreet Kaur & Smriti Mandhana facing each other as India A locked horns with India B after their supposed first encounter got washed out due to rains.
Winning the toss Smriti had no hesitation in batting first as the wicket was a belter and looking at the last two games, sides batting first had won fair and square. The openers of India B came out with a vengeance after they had failed to make an impact in their last game against India C. This time, Smriti & Vanitha gave the team a brisk start as they used the powerplay to great extent and went on to add 50 for the opening stand. Vanitha with 30 off 29 balls & Smriti with 34 off 25 balls provided a quickfire start giving the perfect platform for the middle order to set a decent target on the board. 16-year-old Richa Ghosh once again showed glimpses of her extraordinary talent as she scored a quick 22 off 17 deliveries. Jemimah Rodrigues with 20 off 27 balls also supported her out in the middle.
Sneh Rana was the pick of the bowlers for India A as she picked 2 wickets in her 4 overs giving away 26 runs with Radha Yadav & Mansi Joshi picking up a wicket each. India B managed to score 139 for the loss of 4 wickets in their 20 overs which meant India A had to chase it down at the required rate of 7 which was always going to be a tough task.
In reply, India A were always behind the eight ball as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. India B did not allow the game to slip away at any point in time as they as Smriti Mandhana rotated her bowlers well keeping it really tight, not allowing the batters to have a go at them. Priya Puniya’s solidarity with the bat scoring 34 off 33 balls and Deepti Sharma’s 33 off 32 deliveries went in vain as India A lost their second game in a row managing only 104 for the loss of 7 wickets in their 20 overs.
Sushree Pradhan was the game changer picking up 2 wickets in 2 balls which included the prize wicket of Priya Puniya which really dented India A ‘s confidence while chasing the target of 140. It was a combined effort with both bat & ball which helped India B secure a place in the final of the Paytm Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy and it will be interesting to see who turns up against them for the final on the 11th.
That’s it !!!!!
Ind B have qualified for the final of the @paytm #SeniorT20Challenger
Convincing victory against Ind A and have beaten them all ends up.
Outstanding effort by @mandhana_smriti & Co.
Lots to think about for @ImHarmanpreet & Co.#IndAvIndB
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 7, 2020
India A: 139/4 (20 overs) India B: 104/7 (20 overs) Result: India B won by 35 runs
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