Senior Womens One-Day Cricket Trophy
STATE TIMES NEWS
KOLKATA: Stylish and gritty Bushra Ashraf was in awe-inspiring touch with the willow, while solid Rudrakshi Chib displayed character, composure and promise and almost all the bowlers, especially seamer Sarla Devi and skipper/off-spinner Sandhya Sayal were once again at their best as strong Jammu and Kashmir got the better of formidable Bihar by five wickets in their Plate Group Round IV match of the BCCI’s Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, Salt Lake, here on Monday.
Earlier, winning the toss and batting first, Bihar managed to score a modest total of 115 runs in 46.3 overs. Prity Kumari top scored with 23 runs off 49 balls, studded with 4 boundaries, while Priti Priya, Arya Seth and Pragati Singh contributed 18, 16 and 15 runs to the total respectively. None of the other batters could manage to cross the double figure mark.
Almost all the J&K bowlers were once again at their best and on target, hitting the good areas and bowling with disciplined line and length. Sarla Devi was pick of the bowlers, who captured three important wickets by conceding 24 runs in her 10 overs, while Sandhya Sayal bagged two wickets by giving away 18 runs in 10 overs. Nadia Chowdhary and Ananaya Sharma also claimed one wicket each by conceding 19 runs and 15 runs in 10 overs and 6 overs respectively.
Wicket-keeper Lalita, as usual was superb behind the wickets, while Sheerazah Banoo, Bushra, Rudrakshi and Rubia displayed extraordinary fielding skills.
In reply, Jammu and Kashmir rode on brilliant batting display by middle-order batter Bushra Ashraf and young Rudrakshi Chib to seal the victory by 5 wickets as J&K reached the target in 43.5 overs, losing 5 wickets in the process.
Bushra slammed magnificent unbeaten half-century (54 runs) off 93 balls, including 5 crispy boundaries. Her innings was an amalgam of solidity and aggression, while Rudrakshi Chib set an example of solidity and composure and scored 22 runs off 94 balls with the help three delectable boundaries.
Rubia Syed also chipped in with 8 off 6 balls which included a massive six. For Bihar, Vaidchi Yadav bagged 2 wickets, while Apurva and Nirdela Bharti claimed 1 wicket each.
This is J&K’s 4th consecutive win in the tournament, putting it at the top of points table with 16 points, followed by Nagaland with 8 points.
J&K will face Manipur in their next outing on November 3 at JU Second Campus, Salt Lake, Kolkata.
In other matches of the Plate Group today, Manipur prevailed over Meghalaya and Nagaland outplayed Sikkim in a close contest.