Session 1:
ELITE GROUP A
Meghalaya v Kerala
Kerala bundled out Meghalaya in just 58 runs and they chased it down easily with 8 wickets in hand. Kerala’s 4 of the 5 bowlers took a couple of wickets each and opener Akshaya top-scored with her 25* off 15.
Maharashtra v Hyderabad
Smriti Mandhana led the Maharashtra team and restricted Hyderabad to 99/8. Pokharkar pocketed 3 wickets. In response, Maharashtra didn’t start well. Yashasri dismissed both the openers including Mandhana in 17 runs. But Tejal Hasabnis yet again rescued her team from a tricky situation and scored back-to-back match-winning half-centuries (52* off 46). They won it by 7 wickets.
ELITE GROUP B
Bihar v Chhattisgarh
With the help of Shivi Pandey’s 34 off 37, Chhattisgarh reached the three-figure mark. Priya and Nivedita took 2 wickets each. In chasing the target of 101, Bihar fell short of 31 runs. Shraddha Vaishanava pocketed a 3-fer.
Tamil Nadu v Tripura
After consecutive disappointing performances with the bat in the last 3 games, Tamil Nadu batters finally came good. Nethra (62* off 58) and Thirushkamini (46* off 39) shared a 94-run stand between them and took TN to 137/1 in the 1st innings. Tripura bowled out on 103. Keerthana with her 3-10 ensured TN’s 34-run victory.
ELITE GROUP C
Railways v Chandigarh
Railways captain Mithali Raj came back to the XI in place of Sneh Rana who has been leading the side in the last 3 games. After electing to bat first, Chandigarh could only reach 103/9 at the end of the 20 overs. Tanuja Kanwer and Swagatika Rath took 2 wickets each. With the help of a combined batting effort Railways won it by 6 wickets. Mona Meshram top-scored with 36 off 31.
Delhi v Himachal Pradesh
It was going to be a neck-to-neck contest for HP and Delhi to be in the race to qualify for the QFs. With the help of a couple of knocks of 44 from Priya Punia and Tanisha Singh that Delhi posted 143/9 on the board. Harleen Deol who was going through a lean patch throughout this tournament chose the most important to be back in form. She smashed 112* off 73 and saw her team home. This was the 2nd ton of the tournament this season and the 2nd highest individual score as well. With 2 balls remaining, HP won it by 7 wickets. Simran Dil Bahadur was the pick of the bowler for Delhi with her 2-20.
ELITE GROUP D
Vidarbha v Uttarakhand
Vidarbha’s star-batter Disha Kasat finally looked in touch with the bat. She tonked an unbeaten 76 off 46 to take the 1st innings score to 143/2. Uttarkhand’s innings in response ended on 123/4. Sarika Koli’s fiery 36 off 22 went in vain as Uttarakhand fell short of 20 runs. Vaishnavi Khandkar took 2-20.
Goa v Uttar Pradesh
In response to UP’s 123/6, Goa’s experienced batters Sanjula Naik (50* off 33), Tejashwini Duragad (33 off 34), and skipper Shikha Pandey (29* off 19) played crucial knocks to see Goa home. Goa sealed their 4th victory by 8 wickets.
ELITE GROUP E
Haryana v Bengal
Bengal won the toss and decided to bat first. Opener Deepti Sharma scored 43 off 36 before getting run-out. But the center of attraction of this match was when Shafali Verma came to bowl and picked up 2 crucial wickets including her fellow attacking batter in the national team Richa Ghosh who she clean bowled. With the help of P Bala’s late flourish with the bat, Bengal put a competitive score of 137/7.
But Haryana batters led by young Shafali were determined to chase down this total. Shafali made an opening partnership of 47 with Reema Sisodia (20 off 15) and a 77-run stand with Sheetal Rana (35 off 36) to seal the deal for Haryana. Shafali remained not out on 75 off 46 and ensured a 7-wicket victory over Bengal.
Punjab v Saurashtra
After restricting Saurashtra to 107/8, Punjab comfortably chased it by 7 wickets. Punjab’s Neelam Bisht was the pick of the bowler with 3-20. Whereas Riddhima Aggarwal (34 off 38), Priyanka Malik (31 off 25), and Taniya Bhatia (22 off 19) played some handy knocks at the top.
PLATE
Nagaland v Mizoram
After opting to bat first, Nagaland could only post 106/4 on the board as their star batter Kiran Navgire got out early on 31 off 23 who has scored the bulk of the runs for them. Tarang Jha and Apurwa Bharadwaj took 2 wickets each. But Nagaland put up an excellent fielding performance to defend this low score successfully. Shweta who was in great form for Mizoram got run out on 27 (26). Gautami Naik led the bowling with her 3-fer as Nagaland won by a narrow margin of 6 runs.
Jammu & Kashmir v Pondicherry
After batting first, J & K managed to put up 90/8 on the board in which Bushra Ashraf (28 off 36) and Sheerazah Banoo (31 off 49) made an important 59-run partnership. But with an exceptional bowling effort led by Bismah Hassan’s 4-20, J & K defeated Pondicherry by 8 runs.
Session 2:
Andhra Pradesh v Rajasthan (Elite – A)
After winning the toss, Andhra opted to bat first. With the help of captain Sneha Deepthi’s blistering knock of 70 off 40, Andhra posted 128/8. Shanu was the pick of the bowler with her 3-22. In reply, opener SR Jat slammed a match-winning fifty (51 off 39) to seal the deal for Rajasthan. They beat Andhra by 2 wickets.
Jharkhand v Odisha (Elite – B)
In the 1st innings, Odisha posted 106/3. Kajal Jena top-scored with her 39 off 22. Whereas Sushree Dibyadarshini (18* off 14) and Sarita Meher (28* off 18) played handy knocks as well and remained unbeaten. And their bowlers did the rest by restricting Jharkhand to just 90/7. Sujata Mallik and Priyanka Priyadarshini took a couple of wickets each to secure a 16-run victory for Odisha.
Madhya Pradesh v Karnataka (Elite – C)
MP captain Pooja Vastrakar once again led her team from the front. She scored 49 off 41 to take her team’s score to 136/5. Chandu V who has been in a phenomenal form with the ball took 2 wickets. As they were already eliminated from the tournament, they had nothing to lose. And Divya Gyanananda (41 off 38), D Vrinda (39 off 30), and captain Veda Krishnamurthy (29* off 19) came into their true elements and smacked MP bowlers all over the park to see Karnataka home. With 2 balls remaining, they chased it with 5 wickets in hand.
Gujarat v Baroda (Elite – D)
Yastika Bhatia’s 3rd consecutive fifty (50 off 33) accompanying Tarannum Pathan’s 40 off 37 helped Baroda to reach 142/7. Bhavana Goplani’s 58 off 54 went in vain as Gujarat fell short of 20 runs. Tarannum Pathan and skipper Radha Yadav scalped a couple of wickets each.
Assam v Mumbai (Elite – E)
In a must-win game, Mumbai put up some extraordinary performance with both bat and ball. At first, the bowlers restricted Assam to 63/8 in the 1st innings. Thakor and Janvi pocketed 2 wickets each. In the chase, openers Jemimah Rodrigues (29* off 14) and Simran Shaikh (34* off 17) played a blinder of knocks to ensure a huge boost to their NRR. In a group where teams like Punjab, and Haryana have won a similar number of matches (3 wins each), Mumbai needed to put this thumping victory of 10 wickets over Assam.
Sikkim v Arunachal Pradesh (Plate)
With the help of Samayita (55 of 47) and Manizha’s (51* off 46) brilliant half-centuries, Sikkim posted a big total of 152 on the board. And their bowlers also did a brilliant job to end AP's innings on 98/7. Shristi Rai and Lhakmit Lepcha took 2 wickets each and ensured a 54-run victory for Sikkim. AP’s Megha Sharma scored a 49 off 47 on a losing cause.