PRE-QUARTERFINALS RECAP | Senior Women’s T20 League
Written By: Ritwika Dhar
Date: 28-04-2022
Picture Courtesy: Google Images
Match 1: Kerala v Nagaland
The table-toppers from the Plate group, Nagaland were up against Kerala. Nagaland won the toss and decided to bat first. For Kiran Navgire who was in a different league this season, the bowling challenge of Kerala, a team from the Elite Group was up against her. Despite losing wickets at the other end, Navgire remained focused to accumulate as many important runs as she can for her team. She kept ticking the box and brought yet another half-century for Nagaland. With the help of her 56 off 44 and Gautami Naik's quick 18* off 12, Nagaland put up a decent total of 116/5 on the board. Darsana Mohanan picked up 2 wickets including the dangerous Navgire.
Throughout the season, it was Navgire who scored almost 60-70% of the team’s runs. She did well today as well but couldn't keep up the rate at which she had batted this season. Apart from her, Khemnar consistently performed well in this season, but she was sent to bat at no. 4. Kerala chased it down with ease by 7 wickets with two overs to spare. Khemnar’s 2-23 went in vain as experienced Akshaya with her unbeaten 57 off 56 guided Kerala through to the QFs.
Next fixture: Quarterfinal against Railways (On 30/04 at 8:30 a.m.)
Brief scores:
Nagaland – 116/5 (20) KP Navgire 56 (44), PN Khemnar 24 (35); D. Mohanan 2/17 (3), KK James 1/29 (4)
Kerala – 117/3 (18) Akshaya A 57* (56), Sajana S 21 (20); PN Khemnar 2/23 (4), Elina 1/11 (2)
Match 2: Himachal Pradesh v Goa
After winning the toss, Goa opted to field first. Himachal's opening batters started the innings at a sedate pace. They completed their 1st 50 runs in 9.4 overs. Harleen Deol and Nikita Chauhan made a 90-run opening stand before Rupali Chavan got the breakthrough of Nikita (43 off 37). But Deol held the other end strongly and brought her 51-ball 50.
After 15 overs, Himachal were 101/1 and they needed to increase the run rate to put up a big total. The rest of the batters led by Harleen did the exact job for the team. Deol and SM Singh (19 off 12) brought up a quick 44-run partnership before Singh was dismissed by the young left-arm pacer Metali Gawandar. A late flourish from captain Sushma Verma's bat (12 off 6) took HP to a mammoth total of 167/2. In the last 5 overs, HP added 66 runs to the total in which Deol contributed a quick-fire 34 off just 15 deliveries and ended amassing 84 off 66.
In response to this steep chase, Goa lost 3 early wickets for 24. To chase this down, Goa not only needed to string together a big partnership but they also needed to accelerate. Captain Shikha Pandey didn't have a great season with the ball, but she played some amazing knocks under pressure to bail her team out. Today was no exception. She weaved a 110-run partnership with Tejashwini Duragad (40 off 31) and kept her team in the game. Pandey brought her half-century in just 30 balls and was almost cruising her team towards victory. But Deol who starred with the bat in the 1st innings pulled things back by scalping the prized wicket of Pandey for 77 off 50. With her wicket, HP almost put the lid on Goa's chase. They needed 10 runs in the last over and they successfully defended it to win the game by 3 runs. Anisha Ansari was the pick of the bowlers with 3-22.
Next fixture: Quarterfinal against Maharashtra (On 30/04 at 8:30 a.m.)
Brief scores:
Himachal Pradesh – 167/2 (20) H. Deol 84* (66), SM Singh 19 (12); MR Gawandar 1/14 (2), RS Chavan 1/28 (4)
Goa – 164/7 (20) S. Pandey 77 (50), T. Duragad 40 (31); AA Ansari 3/22 (4), H. Deol 2/37 (4)
Match 3: Haryana v Jharkhand
Haryana won the toss and invited Jharkhand to bat first. Captain Shafali Verma led Haryana from the front with her all-round efforts. Haryana's bowling attack restricted Jharkhand to 110/8 in which Shafali scalped 2 of those 8 wickets.
Haryana's opening batters spearheaded the chase with quite easily. Their 1st 50 came in just 5 overs and they added another 51 to that in the next 5 overs. Reema Sisodia (43 off 33) and Shafali Verma put up a huge opening stand of 102 in just 63 deliveries as Shafali notched up a 27-ball half-century. This was her 5th fifty and 4th one in a row. Her 65* off 33 helped Haryana to win the game by 9 wickets with 9.4 overs to spare.
Next fixture: Quarterfinals against Odisha (On 30/04 at 4:30 p.m.)
Brief scores:
Haryana – 110/8 (20) Monika 27 (27), Ashwani 18 (13); S. Verma 2/16 (4), S. Mendhiya 1/16 (4)
Jharkhand – 112/1 (11.2) S. Verma 65* (33), R. Sisodia 43 (33); Devyani 1/22 (3)