Once again it was a nerve battle between India A and India C in the third match of the Senior T20 Challenger Trophy at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Monday (December 6) where Shafali Verma led her side to a victory alongside others.
Veda Krishnamurthy once again won the toss and chose to bat first. She called it right as both the openers Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia got off to a flying start. The duo stitched a 58-run partnership which laid the winning foundation for India C.
Shafali started hitting in no time as she perfectly hit a cover drive off Deepti Sharma in the very first over. It was just the beginning as the youngster smashed four consecutive boundaries off Komal Zanzad in the third over. With this, India C reached the fifty-run mark within the powerplay.
Having seen the situation is going out of hand, India A captain Harmanpreet Kaur gave the responsibility to Mansi Joshi. She was able to provide the first breakthrough. She used her speciality - short ball to dismiss Yastika who went for a pull shot but got an edge. As the ball went up, Joshi took an easy catch in her follow-through.
In the next over, Sneh Rana's experience bowling witnessed the end of Shafali Verma’s 38 off 24. The off-spinner bowled much quicker and flatter than she usually does which didn't allow the batter to use her feet and open her arm. However, the 15-year-old was trying to hit down the wicket but beaten in the flight and got stumped.
After the two dismissals, Veda Krishnamurthy tried to score freely but Harmanpreet Kaur had the answer in her kitty. While Radha Yadav cleaned up Veda, Nuzhat Parween became the victim of Devika Vaidya. Then there was Deepti Sharma whose off-break made the difference as she removed Arundhati Reddy and Manali Dakshini in the penultimate over.
Dayalan Hemalatha remained unbeaten at 24 as India C posted 123 on the board after 20 overs.
India A's chase didn't start in a usual manner as both the openers Jasia Akhter and Priya Punia didn't get a flying start. On the other hand, India C bowlers Monica Patel and Manali Dakshini bowled six wides (three each) in their first overs. Due to the extras, the scoreboard was ticking as the openers failed to use the opportunities well.
However, Manali successfully handed over the first breakthrough to her side as India A put up 30 after the powerplay. But her dismissal made the situation worse as Minnu Mani came in the crease who played a rather slow knock which built the pressure.
The spin duo - Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Hemalatha Dayalan soon dismissed Punia and Minnu. That brought Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma in the middle. The hope was still there as Kaur is known for her big hits and they have earlier faced this situation as well.
While 57 required off final five overs, Veda gave the ball to Arundhati Reddy who cleaned up Kaur in the final delivery. It was a short delivery, wide outside the off-stump. Kaur tried to hit a boundary but it ended up going straight to Gayakwad at backward point.
Although Deepti scored a 29-ball 34, it was not enough to get past the finish line. India C held their nerves and registered a 10-run win.
Brief Scores: India C 123-7 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 38; Deepti Sharma 2-20) beat India A 113-6 in 20 overs (Deepti Sharma 34; Manali Dakshini 1-8) by ten runs.