Sneh Rana's all-round show and S Meghana's century headline day two of Senior One-Day Challenger Trophy

Akash Ghosh

05 Dec 2021

New Update

Sneh Rana's all-round show and S Meghana's century headline day two of Senior One-Day Challenger Trophy — Sneh Rana © Getty Images

All-round show by skipper Sneh Rana helped India A beat India C by five wickets on day two of the Senior Women’s Challenger Trophy 2021 in Vijayawada on Sunday (December 5). In the other match, S Meghana’s fiery century and Pooja Vastrakar’s three-wicket haul saw India D beat India B by 46 runs.

Earlier in the day, India C skipper Shikha Pandey won the toss and elected to bat first. The decision didn’t quite go down well as both the openers, Priya Punia and Dhara Gujjar were dismissed for ducks within the first two overs. Renuka Singh Thakur, who picked up the scalp of Punia further went on to take the wicket of Anushka Sharma, who made only 13. At this point, India C were in deep trouble at 16 for three, but the damage wasn’t entirely done.

Post the power play, India C slipped further into trouble with Simran Dil Bahadur adding to her tally of wickets with the dismissals of Tarannum Pathan and Pandey. Mehak Kesar then took the scalp of Rizu Saha which meant India C were struggling at 41 for six. At this moment, Radha Yadav and Challuru Prathyusha joined each other in the middle with an aim to just get their side to some respectability.

The duo started building a stand with Yadav playing the role of the aggressor. The team score reached the three-figure mark in the 30th over. After this, both the players started playing more shots with Yadav reaching her fifty first. As she took the backseat, it was Prathyusha who upped the ante. She brought up her fifty as well, but was eventually dismissed by Sonal Kalal in the 44th over, for 63 runs off 74 balls. Their stand by then was 139 runs, which provided their side with a chance.

Once the long stand was broken, Rana got into the act to wrap up the tail. Kashvee Gautam’s nine-ball 11 pushed the score closer to 200, but Rana dismissed her to avoid another late-order stand. She took all the last three wickets, including the one of Yadav, who was dismissed for a well-made 82 runs from 98 balls. With her dismissal, India C were bowled out for 205 in 47.1 overs. Dil Bahadur and Rana got three wickets each while Thakur got two.

In response, India A didn’t have the best of starts with Shivali Shinde unluckily dismissed when her partner’s shot ricocheted off Pandey’s hand to run her out. Opener C Jhansi Lakshmi and Yastika Bhatia then combined for a stand to stabilize things, but they took a lot of time to get things moving. Their stand of 44 runs came from 79 balls. Bhatia was stumped by Tarannum Pathan for 19 which brought Disha Kasat to the crease. The momentum was just getting into the innings when Lakshmi was dismissed for her 69-ball 32. At the halfway stage, the required rate had jumped to around 5, with Rana joining Kasat.

Though it took Rana 11 balls to get her first run, she quickly managed to pick up the pace once her eye got in. Together with Kasat, she put on 71 runs in around 15 overs to put her side in the front seat once again. However, when Kasat fell for 53 off 70 balls, Rana took charge of the innings as Dil Bahadur joined her. Rana got to fifty to put her team in a position of strength. She was dismissed for 59 runs from 75 balls eventually, but Dil Bahadur made 23 runs from 14 balls to guide them home with 23 balls to spare.

In the second match, India B won the toss and elected to field first. Sarla Devi’s double strike to remove Indrani Roy and G Divya in the second over put some pressure on India D. Amanjot Kaur was soon dismissed in the fifth over by Meghna Singh, which meant India D were reeling at 26 for three. At the other end, S Meghana was settling in and made sure she took the attack to the opposition. Instead of going into her shell, she decided to take charge to force the pressure back on India B. Ayushi Soni supported her well as the two marched along to a 108-run stand.

Soni was finally dismissed for a well-made 48 but Meghana then joined hands with K Prathyoosha as she kept moving to a fiery hundred. She fell soon after the landmark as she was dismissed for 102 off 85 balls. Meghana’s dismissal not only slowed things down but also choked the innings. Regular strikes after that meant the momentum was lost. They were bowled out for 230 in 48.5 overs. Apart from Devi, Rashi Kanojiya and Chandu V also picked up two wickets each.

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In reply, India B lost Palak Patel in the very first over. Harleen Deol joined S Shubha and put on a fifty-run stand before the latter was dismissed for 17. Deol followed up the match-winning fifty from the first game and scored another half-century. Humaira Kazi and Deol managed to share a 79-run stand before the partnership was brought to an end with the wicket of Deol.

Till her wicket, India B were somewhat in the box seat, but a collapse followed. Kanika Ahuja castled Kazi a couple of overs later. After that, G Trisha’s 39-ball 26 was not enough to keep the side in the game as she kept losing partners from the other end. For India D, skipper Pooja Vastrakar was the pick of the bowlers with her figures of 3 for 37. India B were eventually bowled for 184, losing their last eight wickets for just 53 runs. With this win, India D now have two wins from as many matches, making them a prime favourite to play the final.

Brief scores:

India C 205 all out in 48.5 overs (Radha Yadav 82, Sneh Rana 3/32) lost to India A 206/5 in 46.1 overs (Sneh Rana 59, Shikha Pandey 1/26) by five wickets.

India D 230 all out in 48.5 overs (S Meghana 102, Sarla Devi 2/24) beat India B 184 all out in 50 overs (Harleen Deol 73, Pooja Vastrakar 3/37) by 46 runs.

India Pooja Vastrakar Radha Yadav S. Meghana Sneh Rana Women's Senior One-Day Challenger Trophy 2021