Railways set up T20 Trophy final date with Bengal

Bengal and Railways, the two unbeaten teams, thrashed Baroda and Vidarbha, respectively, in the semifinal of the Senior T20 Trophy on Friday (November 8) to set up title clash on Sunday (November 10).

In the first semi-final between Bengal and Baroda at the ACA Cricket Ground in Mulapadu, allround Bengal outclassed Baroda by six wickets. Gouher Sultana and Mita Paul shared four wickets between them to keep the Baroda line-up in check. Yastika Bhatia tried to guide her team to a decent total after the top oder failed, but couldn't find support at the other end. The left-hander eventually fell to Paul for a patient 22.

Following the dismissal of Bhatia, Baroda stuttered to 88 for the loss of nine wickets - Sultana chipping away at the lower order to keep the run-rate in check.

In reply, Bengal faced an early hiccup as Paul was run out by Bhatia. Although Jaya Mohite picked up two wickets for Baroda, the positive mindset of Mandira Mahapatra (27*) and Paramita Roy (26) handed Bengal a ticket to the final.

In the afternoon clash, Sheral Rozario's match-winning knock of 66 secured Railways' finals berth as they defeated Vidarbha by a mammoth margin of 75 runs. Railways did not have the best of starts, losing their openers in quick succession, bringing Rozario to the crease. The 34-year-old took her time, ran hard between the wickets and walloped three sixes in her 59-ball knock. Her 79-run third wicket stand with Mona Meshram (22) took Railways to a competitive total of 139 for the loss of five.

In reply, the spin trio of Preeti Bose, Sneh Rana and Asha Sobhana combined to bundle out Vidarbha for 64 in the penultimate over. Bose took three wickets while Rana and Sobhana accounted for two each. Apart from Disha Kasat (21), no Vidarbha batter could make an impact.

Brief scores:

Railways 139/5 in 20 overs (Sheral Rozario 66; Nupur Kohale 3-11) beat Vidarbha 64 in 18.1 overs (Disha Kasat 21; Preeti Bose 3-11) by 75 runs.

Baroda 88/9 in 20 overs (Yastika Bhatia 22; Mita Paul 2-17, Gouher Sultana 2-21) lost to Bengal 92/4 in 18.4 overs (Mandira Mahapatra 27*, Paramita Roy 26; Jaya Mohite 2-13) by six wickets.