Senior Women's T20: Shikha Pandey, Shafali Verma lead from the front; Goa, Railways remain unbeaten

Title favourites Railways registered their third straight win as Haryana and Pondicherry returned to winning ways in the evening session of the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy on Thursday. Maharashtra also continued their winning run with Smriti Mandhana and Tejal Hasabnis being among the runs, while captain Shikha Pandey’s all-round show helped Goa beat Vidarbha.

Railways vs Delhi

In a clash of two unbeaten teams, Delhi made a bright start and had Railways at 34-3 before Hemalatha and captain Sneh Rana put up a 78-run partnership to resuscitate the innings and set Delhi a target of 137.

In reply, Priya Punia continued her impressive form to score 65 off 54 balls but her lone hand was not enough for Delhi, who fell short by 24 runs eventually as Preeti Bose claimed four crucial wickets for just 24 runs.

Meghalaya vs Maharashtra

Having lost their opening game, Maharashtra won their second match on the trot as Tejal Hasabnis’ powerful 54 off 36 balls and Smriti Mandhana’s classy 37 saw them plie up a massive total of 187.

Meghalaya could only muster 69 in response as Maharashtra’s bowlers continued their good form in the tournament.

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Saurashtra vs Haryana

After suffering a loss in their previous game, Haryana got back to winning ways as captain Shafali Verma was at her aggressive best, scoring 51 off just 29 deliveries as the team chased down a target of 99 with three overs to spare. With net run rate likely to be a factor, Shafali’s quick knock might end up being crucial for Haryana later in the tournament.

Brief Scores:

Maharashtra 187/4 in 20 overs (Tejal Hasabnis 54, Smriti Mandhana 37; Debasmita Dutta 4/42) beat Meghalaya 69/10 in 19 overs (Rajni Lodhi 23; Aarati S Kedar 3/10) by 118 runs

Tamil Nadu 117/5 in 20 overs (Nethra Lakshminarayan 42; Nivedita 3/13) beat Bihar 89/5 in 20 overs (Yashita Singh 32; Kesava Ramyashri 1/1) by 28 runs

Railways 136/7 in 20 overs (Dayalan Hemalatha 69; Soni Yadav 2/19) beat Delhi 112/9 in 20 overs (Priya Punia 65; Preeti Bose 4/24) by 24 runs

Vidarbha 104/10 in 19.3 overs (Vaishnavi Khandkar 44; Tejashwini Duragad 3/18) lost to Goa 105/3 in 19.4 overs (Shikha Pandey 49*, Sanjula Naik 37*; Komal Zanzad 3/8) by seven wickets

Saurashtra 98/6 in 20 overs (Mridula Jadeja 36; Mansi Joshi 1/14) lost to Haryana 102/2 in 17 overs (Shafali Verma 51, Reema Sisodia 37; Thappetla Dharani 2/20) by eight wickets

Manipur 67/10 in 18.5 overs (Ganga Waikhom 21; Abirame Ramamurthy 2/11) lost to Pondicherry 68/2 in 10.4 overs (Bhakti Tamore 41; Milan Yambem 2/20) by eight wickets