Patna, May 2: In a thrilling encounter at the CBA ground, Team Narmada clinched a hard-fought win against Team Ganga by a margin of 7 runs in the Straight Drive Women’s Cricket Tournament.
In the third match of the tournament held at the Cricket Academy of Bihar (CAB), Team Narmada’s captain, Swarnima Chakraborty, won the toss and elected to bat first. Opening batswomen Andrey Rani and Swarnima Chakraborty set a solid foundation, putting on 44 runs. However, the first blow came with the dismissal of Andrey Rani after scoring 19 runs. Despite a low score from Deepa, she provided valuable support to Swarnima, contributing 23 runs to the partnership. Swarnima departed after a crucial knock of 28 runs from 39 balls, including two fours and two sixes, followed by Deepa’s exit with just 3 runs to her name. Suhani joined the crease but struggled to find partnerships with Khushi and Prachi.
A significant 43-run partnership between Suhani and Soumya Akhauri bolstered Team Narmada’s innings. However, Soumya’s dismissal at 118 runs marked the sixth wicket down for Team Narmada. They concluded their innings at 125 runs for 7 wickets in the allotted 22 overs, with Suhani remaining unbeaten on 30 runs from 23 balls, comprising 4 fours and 1 six, while Khushi contributed 2 runs.
Team Ganga’s bowling attack saw Pragati, Pooja, Arpana, and Sakshi Singh each claiming a wicket.
In response, Team Ganga’s opening pair of Komal Kumari and Simran Kumari started steadily, adding 22 runs to the scoreboard. However, wickets fell at regular intervals thereafter. Simran’s departure after a valuable 27-run contribution marked the turning point for Team Ganga. Despite Pragati Singh’s determined effort, scoring 37 runs off 28 balls with 7 fours and 1 six, Team Ganga fell short of the target, getting all out for 118 runs in 19.2 overs. Extras contributed 23 runs to their total.
For Team Narmada, Rishika Kinjal took 2 wickets, Soumya bagged bagged wicket, Nutan and Aanchal took 3 wickets each and Swarnima got one wicket. Suhani Kumari was given the Player of the Match award.
