UP women’s lose in Plate Group final
Uttar Pradesh’s journey in the Plate Group of the Senior Women’s One-Day League came to an end on Wednesday as they went down meekly to Himachal Pradesh by 48 runs in the final, at the Motibaug Cricket Ground in Vadodara.
Needing 186 to win stipulated 50 overs, UP eves couldn’t recover from early setbacks and collapsed for 137 in 47.5 overs. Nishu Choudhary (39, 62b, 5x4) and skipper Deepti C (23, 73b, 3x4) could show some resistance before the Himachal bowlers, especially spinner TP Kanwar, who finished with three for 26. RK Singh had two for 32, whereas A Ansari and NS Chauhan shared two wickets between them.
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh’s innings witnessed two sparkling half centuries from top order batswomen. Opener MP Devi smacked 118-ball 56, which contained eight hits to the fence, whereas NM Chaudhary before being run out by Neetu Singh struck 77, which came off 124 balls with the help of six hits to the fence. The duo stitched together 90-run for the second wicket. S Sharma (23, 31b, 1x4) also made useful contribution. Shivangi Raj and Shefali Sahu shared four wickets between them for UP, whereas Deepti C had one for 38. IN GOOD POSITION Zeeshan Ansari (2 for 31) and Shivam Chaudhary (1 for 13) bowled on accurate lines and helped former champions Uttar Pradesh take a commanding 193-run first innings lead against Odisha in their fourday Plate Group Under-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy match, at the Victoria Park Ground in Meerut on Wednesday.
Uttar Pradesh scored 415 in 139.2 overs in their first innings after skittling out Odisha for 222. There was no end to Odisha’s agony as they lost three wickets for 113 in 57 overs on the penultimate day of the tie on Wednesday.
Shivam Chaudhary removed opener Shantanu Mishra, who edge a regulation catch to Rakshan Faraz after making 31 in 153 balls with the help of three fours. Then it came the turn of spinner Zeeshan, who had Debashish Samantray (26, 64b, 5x4) and Abhishek Yadav (38, 113b, 6x4) in quick succession. The duo added 65-run for the second wicket.
Odisha still need 81-run to overcome the first innings lead with seven wickets in hand. Devendra S Kunwar (9) and Debapriya Pattanayak (1) were at the crease when the stumps were drawn on Wednesday.
Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 311 for five this morning, Nalin Mishra and Upendra Yadav enjoyed the perfect batting strip with flawless hits around the ropes. The two collected 87-run and helped UP cross 400-run mark. Nalin’s 187-ball 59 was studded with six boundaries, whereas Upendra consumed 107 deliveries to hit 57, which contained nine boundaries.
Pappu Roy remained the most successful bowler for Odisha, bagging four for 102, whereas Debabrata Priya and Debapriya Pattanayak took three and two wickets, respectively.