Baroda and UP’s Round III engagements in the Senior Women’s Elite T20 (Group A) had contrasting results with a 24-run and one-run wins against Goa and MP respectively at the GCA Academy, Porvorim on Monday.
Baroda’s team effort orchestrated their second consecutive win over Goa. While in the other match, searching for their respective first wins, it was UP who held their nerve over MP in the end to kill the contest off the last ball
in the game.
Coming off a day’s break and an impressive win against UP on Saturday, Goa Women let themselves down with some poor cricket to taste defeat against Baroda. Put in to bat, Baroda Women got off to a positive start with their left-hand and right-hand opening combo of Binaisha Surti and Palak Patel looking in fine fettle. Southpaw Surti was the initiator in flaying the attack with two sweetly timed maximums to go along with four boundaries in her 27-ball 31.
The Binaisha-Palak stand was finally broken on 35 at the end of the Power Play with Binaisha nicking one behind off pacer Santoshi Rane. Wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia who replaced Binaisha at the crease got into the act as well and along with Palak took the score to 65 in 10.2 overs until Palak was dismissed for a well-made 23 (25b, 3x4).
While captain Tarannum Pathan could not replicate her previous day’s heroics, Radha P Yadav came to party with a unbeaten cameo of 22 runs from 12 balls aided with four hits to the ropes. Slow left-arm bowler Rupali Chavan was the lone Goan to impress conceding 18 runs from her four overs without any reward.
In reply, Goa Women were never really in the game in their chase. In-form Sunanda Yetrekar’s mix-up with captain Shikha Pandey while going for two off her first ball led to the former’s dismissal at a critical juncture of the game. From 31/3 mid-way through the sixth over, the home side had lost half their batswomen for just 39 on board by 9.5 overs.
With a mountain to climb, hopes were shouldered upon a demoted Vinavi Gurav who along with Bharati Gaonkar ran the singles and twos well. The Gurav-Gaonkar sixth-wicket stand raised 26 runs in just over a run-a-ball. With wicket-keeper Gurav out on 14 (25b, 1x4 at 65 after 14 overs defeat loomed in the face of the Goa Women. The eventually ended their innings at 102/9, 24 runs adrift off the opposition. For Baroda, offie Shalini Sharma did a star turn with 3/14 in four overs while medium-pacer Nancy Patel claimed 2/12 in her quota.
In the afternoon match, UP Women held their nerves to eke out a one-run win over their neighbours Madhya Pradesh. UP Women, who were put in to bat, made 105/5 in their 20 overs. Shobha Devi promoted up the order in place of an injured Muskan Malik struck a brilliant 60 from 62 deliveries with nine boundaries.
MP eventually fell short by a run when the on-strike batswoman, captain Nidhi Buley facing her first delivery played a reverse sweep off the last ball while searching for a boundary but could not get the desired results.
UP slow bowler Rashi Kanojiya who bowled the decisive last over did well to turn the tables by conceding just two runs while picking up a stick (besides a run-out) with four needed from the over for a likely MP win.
