Pooja and Trisha help break Hyderabad’s losing spree; Andhra cruise to top of the table

After suffering three losses on the trot, Hyderabad managed to finally win a game as they cruised to a six-wicket win over bottom placed Jharkhand in Group D of the BCCI Senior Women’s T20 Trophy at the MCA Ground 2, Gahunje, Pune on Saturday.

In Group B, Andhra kept a clean slate by winning their fourth consecutive game to top the table. Andhra defeated star-studded Baroda by five wickets in Mohali.

Gongadi Trisha scored a half-century while Vanka Pooja bagged four wickets in Hyderabad’s first win of the season. Jharkhand managed a competitive 169 but Hyderabad responded with 175 for four.

Batting first, Jharkhand lost an early wicket in the form of Shashi Mathur (6), who was caught by Pranavi Chandra off E Srujana but Aishwarya Singh kept the scoreboard moving briskly.

Jharkhand then lost Rashmi Gudia (12), who was caught by Kavyasree of Kranthi Reddy, but Aishwarya and Khushbu Kumari added 94 for the third wicket before Khushbu was caught by Pranavi off K Drithi for 40 which came off 20 balls with three fours  and three sixes.

Vanka Pooja then removed Aishwarya, who was caught by Kranthi, for a splendid 86 off 51 balls with four fours and six sixes. Pooja, who took four for 32 in a lost cause against Delhi, then ran through the Jharkhand innings.

Jharkhand were bowled out for 169 in 19.5 overs with Pooja taking four for 33. Gongadi Trisha bagged two for 26.

In reply, Hyderabad lost skipper Pranavi for a duck but Trisha and Nalla Kranthi Reddy steadied the innings with a 91-run partnership which laid the foundation for the victory. Trisha was the first to go as she was caught by S Kumar off SP Singh for 59 off 35 balls with 10 fours and a six.

Kranthi was caught by D Prasad off A Kumari for a 39-ball 45 with six fours. Madiwala Mamatha then made 28 off 19 balls with four boundaries before being run out by S Kumari. Mamatha and Pooja had added 50 for the fourth wicket. Pooja saw the side home as she remained unbeaten on 35 off 19 balls with two fours and three sixes.

Brief scores: Jharkhand 169 in 19.5 overs (Aishwarya Singh 86, Khushbu Tiwari 40, Vanka Pooja 4/33, G Trisha 2/26) lost to Hyderabad 1175/4 in 19.2 overs (G Trisha 59, N Kranthi Reddy 45, Vanka Pooja 32no, Mamatha Madiwala 28).

Shabnam and Henrietta fashion Andhra win

Henrietta Pereira slammed an unbeaten half-century to power Andhra to a five-wicket win over star-studded Baroda at the IS Bindra Cricket Stadium in Mohali.

After restricting Baroda to 116 for nine, Andhra made 118 for five to grab full points from the game and top the table.

Shabnam Shakil bagged three for 23 to set up Andhra’s five-wicket win over Baroda

Mediumpacer Shabnam Shakil struck the first blow by having Amrita Joseph (8) caught by E Padmaja with 24 on the board. Thereafter, Baroda batters struggled to get going as the Andhra bowlers were right on top of their game.

Poonam Khemnar topscored with 26 off 21 balls with three fours and a six as only three other batters reached double figures. Mesvi Pokar (17), skipper Radha Yadav (16) and Arundhati Reddy (11).

In reply, Andhra lost Ranga Lakshmi (13) with 23 on the board. Lakshmi was caught by Joseph off Radha Yadav. N Anusha and Henrietta then took the score to 55 before Anusha fell for 22.

Andhra found themselves in some trouble as Pushpa Latha (1) was run out by Radha and E Padmaja (1) was sent back by Riddhi Singh.

At 70 for four, things were not rosy for Andhra but Henrietta and skipper Anjali Sarvani (18) shared a 34-run partnership for the fifth wicket to put Andhra on course of victory.

Henrietta remained unbeaten on 51 off 42 balls with six fours as Andhra reached 118 for five.

Brief scores: Baroda 116 for nine in 20 overs (Poonam Khemnar 26; Shabnam Shakil 3/23, Akhila Pavani 2/14, Devika Kandregula 2/20) lost to Andhra 118 for five in 17.4 overs (N Anusha 22, Henrietta Pereira 51 not out, Anjali Sarvani 18; Riddhi Singh 2/16).