Bhubaneswar: Orissa emerged champions in the Senior Women’s T20 League Plate division cricket tournament defeating Kerala by eight runs Saturday in a thrilling final at Bangalore.
Orissa won the toss and decided to bat and put on 108 runs in their 20 overs losing five wickets in the process. Even though the total was not a huge one, the Orissa bowlers then worked in tandem to dismiss the opposition for exactly a 100 runs with four balls to spare.
Sujata Malik (2/21), Rasanara Parwin (2/24) and off-spinner Sushree Pradhan (2/15) all took wickets at vital moments and they were well-supported by Priyanka Priyadarshini (1/10) and Madhusmita Behera (1/17). Most importantly they kept on chipping away with wickets thereby never allowing the Kerala batswomen to break their shackled.
Orissa were given a steady start of 49 runs by Madhuri Mehta (28, 35b, 2×4) and Madhusmita (26, 37b, 1×4, 1×6). After their departures, Sarita Meher (12), Pragyan Mohanty (16) and Kadambini Mahakud (15) played little cameos, but never could really increase the tempo. Hence even though they had wickets at hand, they could not achieve a run rate of six runs and above. Keerthy James (2/21) was the most successful bowler for Kerala.
However, the bowlers rose to the occasion on the day. Except for T Shani (48, 48b, 3×4), The rest of their batswomen never got going against the steady Orissa bowling. Minnu Mani (20) and A Akshaya (15) did offer some semblance of resistance, but the rest failed to register double digit scores.
Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) members congratulated all the members of Orissa women’s cricket team for their success. OCA declared a cash award of Rs 25,000 each for each player and support staff of the team.
Brief scores: Orissa 108/5 (Madhuri Meheta 28; Keerthy James 2/21) bt Kerala 100 (T Shani 48; Sushree Pradhan 2/15) by eight runs.
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