Smriti credits team management for revival
RCB skipper elated to see the amount of crowd support for the franchise, terms it as the tonic women’s cricket was craving for
Smriti believes backing players have done wonders for the side.
An improved show with bat and ball helped Royal Challengers Bangalore not only register its firstever win against Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League but also make it to the playoffs of the tournament for the first time. Captain Smriti Mandhana credited the RCB management for its support to players and staff alike.
“Last season didn’t go our way. It wasn’t a bad team. We didn’t step up and play the cricket we wanted to play. A lot of hard work and thought has gone into this over the past 12 months, not only from my side but all the support staff and the RCB management. For them to show their faith in all of us was just amazing,” Smriti told reporters after her side’s sevenwicket win against MI on Tuesday.
Ups and downs
“I wouldn’t say that (this has been a) really satisfying campaign still, but we had a lot of ups and downs, but that’s how WPL and T20 cricket is. You’ll have good days and bad days.”
“One important talk we had was to not look at the other games as its not in our hands. It takes away the cricketing talk. We treated it as quarterfinal, semifinal, final and spoke about playing our best cricket,” she said.
Smriti hailed crowd support for the franchise in both legs.
“I was surprised to see the whole crowd chanting RCB during the match against Delhi Capitals. It’s not something you expect to see. At the end of it, women’s cricket is the winner. Of course, franchise has its own fan base for the last 15odd years.
“Their expectations and whatever they say about us good or bad —is important to have in the group because it motivates us to do better for them.
“As women cricketers, we’ve wanted this to happen and it is an amazing thing to watch it happen,” she said.
Gowthaman stars for Walajah CA
L. Gowthaman’s hattrick (3/12) helped Walajah CA bowl out BHEL for 135 in its innings, and in reply, Walajah won by four wickets in The Ranipet DCA first division league match held recently. In a seconddivision match, Ravi Shankar’s allround performance (31 & 6/18) helped SCF defeat Sri Sai CA by 52 runs.
The scores: I div: BHEL 135 in 33.5 overs (Sathish Kumar 61, L. Gowthaman 3/12) lost to Walajah 138/6 in 33.5 overs (Viswanathan 35).
YMCA 102 in 23.1 overs (K. Saravanan 32, Yazharunmozhi 5/50) lost to Jawahar 103/3 in 16.5 overs (Jai 64).
Arcot 196 in 47.2 overs (Mohanakrishnan 33, Yuvaraj 42) lost to Jawahar 200/4 in 34.1 overs (Shameel Basha 48, Suriya Dhoni 87, E. Tamizh Dhileepan 52, N. Karthi 3/20).
II div.: IRI 200/8 in 27 overs (V. M. Purushothaman 37, Sathish Kumar 36, Mani Raina 63, Rahul Ravi 3/22) bt Cresent 175/8 in 27 overs.
Sputnik 196 in 26.1 overs (M. Sasikumar 35, Vivekanandhan 44, Santhosh 4/34) bt Eagle 130 in 26.4 overs (M. G. Sunil 3/19, Vishaanth Gopi 3/28).
Miller 222/4 in 27 overs (J. Praveen Kumar 63, Mories 53, Ashok 64) bt Youth 109 in 26.1 overs (Prem Kumar 33, Susil Kumar 4/33).
Sputnik 135 in 28.4 overs (V. Naresh Babu 3/12) lost to Ideal 138/7 in 27.4 overs (V. Naresh Babu 34).
Eagle 132/8 in 25 overs (Dinesh 31, Purushoth 40, R. Dinesh Kumar 3/29) lost to Walajah Knight Riders 133/3 in 21.5 overs (Gowtham 52, Pasalai Raj 32).
SCF 174 in 29 overs (Ravi Shankar 31, M. S. Siva Kumar 3/22, Srinivasan 3/32) bt Sai Sri CA 122/9 in 30 overs (S. Naveen Kumar 34, Ravi Shankar 6/18). Arakonam 172/8 in 30 overs
K. Ravi Shankar (31 & 6/18, SCF).
Kavinidhi (The Laidlaw Memorial, 112 n.o.)
(German 41, Vijayan 61, Arunpandiyan 4/39) bt Friends 108 in 25.3 overs (Vijayan 3/17, German 4/21).
Mithil scalps five
NAGAPATTINAM: R.S. Mithil claimed five for three as Chinmaya Vidyalaya defeated Ghouthia HSS by 103 runs in the quarterfinals of the NDCA interschool T20 cricket tournament.
The scores (quarterfinals): National HSS 53 in 13.3 overs (A. Mohamed Abuthahir Sahib 5/11) lost to Nagore Modern MHSS 58/1 in 9.1 overs (A. Hameed Umar Rifas 25 n.o.).
Chinmaya Vidyalaya 119/9 in 20 overs (E. Dhayanethi 33 n.o., A. Mohamed Irfanudeen 3/25) bt Ghouthia HSS 16 in 8.4 overs (R.S. Mithil 5/3); Adharsh MHSS 183/0 in 20 overs (V.S. Dheeran 106 n.o., A. Ahamed Hafil 31 n.o.) bt CSI HSS 50 in 19.2 overs.
Point Calimere International School 72 in 13.2 overs lost to GHSS (Thopputhurai) 74/3 in 12.2 overs (Jagan 28 n.o.).
Kavinidhi, Arish sizzle
UDHAGAMANDALAM:
N.
Gowthaman (Walajah, 3/12, incl. hattrick).
Kavinidhi struck an unbeaten 112 (17x4) and M. Arish Karthick followed it up with a five for 8, including a hattrick as The Laidlaw Memorial thrashed Holy Innocent by 170 runs in the NDCA under13 interschool tournament recently.
The scores:
The Laidlaw Memorial 245/3 in 30 overs (N. Kavinidhi 112, M.
Tharun Pranav 56) bt Holy Innocent HS 75 in 27.5 overs (M. Arish Karthick 5/8).
St. Joseph’s Boys HSS 67 in 23.4 overs (R. Vidyuth 3/6, M. Arish Karthick 3/15 lost to The Laidlaw Memorial 70/0 in 10.4 overs (S.S. Aghikesh 39 n.o.).
Easy for Zesty Tribes
Zesty Tribes scored a 70run win over Open Challengers in the NDCA league entry tournament recently.
The scores:
Zesty Tribes 207/9 in 35 overs (R. Vivek 58, S. Naveen 34 n.o.) bt Open Challengers 137 in 27 overs (P. Rathish Kumar 34, S. Vignesh 3/12, R. Vivek 3/23).