Meghana, Chantham fifties help India B, Thailand win

There’s no better joy than scoring runs against an international side, be it in a list A or a T20 game. Sabbineni Meghana surely would have had a feel of that as she went about with her stuff with the bat for India B against Bangladesh on Saturday (January 18) in the third match of the Women’s Quadrangular T20 Series in Patna.

Yastika Bhatia fell early for six with India B’s score reading 13, after they opted to bat. But Meghana kept the scoreboard ticking from the other end. She found an able ally in Shivali Shinde, with whom she added 73 runs for the second wicket. Shinde soon fell for 26 to leave India B at two for 86 in the 15^th over.

Meghana then got to her half century off just 41 balls but then struggled, falling for 52 off 47 balls. She hit six fours and a six during her stay in the middle. After her fall, the team crawled to four for 112, which seemed below par then. Salma Khatun bowled a very economical as well as a wicket-taking spell for Bangladesh, returning with three for 18.

India B’s bowlers never let Bangladesh off the hook during the chase. Sneh Rana first got rid of Murshida Khatun for a duck and then Ayasha Rahman fell for two off seven balls to Simran Dil Bahadur to leave Bangladesh reeling at two for three in the third over.

Sanjida Islam and Nigar Sultana then tried resurrecting the innings. They strung 48 runs together for the third wicket before the latter fell to Tanushree Sarkar for 26. Islam followed her partner soon for 34 as Tanuja Kanwer trapped her leg before to have the opposition down at four for 69.

The battle was well lost from there as the tourists were eventually kept to nine for 98, going down by 14 runs. While Rana returned with impressive figures of two for 11, Sarkar had two wickets to show as well.

Nattakan Chantham played the perfect sheet-anchor’s role in the second clash of the day between India A and Thailand, which helped the latter to a nine-run win.

Chantham and her opening partner, Nattaya Boochatham, began well after electing to bat. She did the scoring part while the latter did the accumulation job, as the duo scored 70 runs inside 11 overs. But Meghna Singh broke through, when she had Boochatham caught for 25.

Chantham kept going from one end and brought up her half century in 46 balls. Chanida Sutthiruang was promoted in a bid to provide the acceleration to Thailand’s innings but it didn’t really work out. The duo added 44 runs in seven overs before Sutthiruang fell for a 19-ball 18 to Sushree Dibyadarshini, who then sent back Naruemol Chaiwai on the very next ball for a golden duck.

Thailand were three for 114 at the end of the 18^th over then. Thanks largely to Chantham, they added a further 18 runs in the last two overs to finish at a decent three for 132. They would still have rued the missed chance to pile a big score given the start they had.

Jincy George. © Jincy George/Facebook

Boochatham began on the right note with the ball, sending Madhuri Meheta back for one. A 65-run partnership between Priya Punia and Jincy George then brought India A back on track. The latter attacked the bowling while Punia’s stay was a slowish one. Eventually she fell for 23 in 28 balls to be Onnicha Kamchomphu’s first scalp.

Meanwhile, George looked set to get to the fifty-run mark even as Harleen Deol made her way to the middle. But it wasn’t to be as Kamchomphu picked up her second wicket, dealing India A with a striking blow – George was walking back for 44 off just 40 balls with five fours. Deol soon fell for 14, taking 21 balls for the same.

The final blow could never come from India A as Thailand’s bowlers – led by Boochatham and Kamchomphu – shut the game quickly. The duo picked up two wickets apiece, which meant that India A’s final clash against India B will be an inconsequential tie.

The win for Thailand also meant that their match against Bangladesh will be a virtual semi-final, with the winner taking on India B.

Brief Scores:

India B 112/4 in 20 overs (Meghana Sabbineni 52, Shivali Shinde 26; Salma Khatun 3/18) beat Bangladesh 98/9 in 20 overs (Sanjida Islam 34, Nigar Sultana 26; Sneh Rana 2/11, Tanushree Sarkar 2/26) by 14 runs.

Thailand 132/3 in 20 overs (Nattakan Chantham 82*, Nattaya Boochatham 25; Sushree Dibyadarshini 2/28) beat India A 123/9 in 20 overs (Jincy George 44, Priya Punia 23; Onnicha Kamchomphu 2/12, Nattaya Boochatham 2/26) by nine runs.