PANAJI
Goa stormed into the semi-finals of the Senior Women's One-day League Plate Group after crushing Kerala by 71 runs at JU Second Campus, Salt Lake, Kolkata on Friday. Goans rode on captain Shikha Pandey's marvellous all-round performance (29, 4/17) with Sanjula Naik returning to form with a valiant
unbeaten 43.
Earlier on winning the toss, Kerala put Goa in to bat. And their plan seemed to work initially, as the reliable opening pair of stumper, Vinavi Gurav and Nikita Malik -- who did well at the top in the Group C Plate earlier -- could not replicate the same solidity together in the quarters. Both were dismissed early, falling leg-before to Kerala off-break bowler, Minnu Mani. Gurav was first to fall in the third over with a quick-fire 11 (13b, 2x4) with the team score at 13.
A promoted Sugandha Ghadi (6) was run-out for an addition of another 10 runs to the scoreboard. With Nikita Malik dismissed for a patient 9 (38b, 1x4) and Goa Women at 29/3, a partnership was the need of the hour.
This was when Sunanda Yetrekar with captain Shikha Pandey brought stability to the innings with a fourth-wicket stand of 29, until Yetrekar lost her wicket for a painstaking 4 (26b). The eventual score of 122 was propped up by skipper Pandey 29 (40b, 5x4) and an unbeaten 43 (79b, 4x4) by Sanjula Naik, both returning to run-scoring ways when it mattered the most.
In the Kerala attack, which interestingly comprised of all slow bowlers, Sajana S scalped three sticks, while Minnu Mani and Keerthy K James bagged two wickets apiece.
In reply, Kerala were never in the game and folded up meekly for 51 in 31 overs. Their star batter and captain, Asha S played out 12 balls before perishing to her opposite number, Shikha Pandey for no score. Their woe in their top half of the batting card was as abject that their No 10 Aneena Mathews top-scored with 14 from 30 deliveries with three hits to the ropes.
Among Goa bowlers, their opening pacers accounted for the first six wickets. While Shikha Pandey had telling figures of 4/17 from her 10 overs, Santoshi Rane announced her return to Goa Women after a stint of coaching the Goa U-16 girls with a fine supporting role of 2-15 as returns from seven overs. Sunanda Yetrekar played her part with her leggies, mopping up the lower order to snap up 4/12
from 8 overs.
Goa Women take on Karnataka (received a bye) in the semi-finals at the same venue on December 24. In the meanwhile, Vidarbha who trounced Haryana by 10 wickets, chasing a meagre score of 31 runs on Thursday, will play Bengal -- who also had a bye -- in the other semi-final to be held on the same day at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
