Railways women on the right track

The defending champions Railways faced Andhra women in their second fixture in Elite Group A match today. The match was played at Railway Cricket Ground, Rajkot. Andhra captain S Meghana won the toss and elected to bat first. Railways skipper Mithali Raj would not mind fielding first as they have successfully chased in their previous outing against Odisha.

Andhra had a disappointing start when they lost their opener Sneha Deepthi in the 4th over. Kavita took over from where she had left in the previous match and provided an early breakthrough for Railways. Andhra skipper came in at no. 3 and tried to steady the innings with Anusha, before Kavita got the skipper run out for 14 runs. After the initial overs from pacers, Raj asked Ekta Bisht to roll her arm over. Bisht did not waste any time in trapping Anusha LBW and sent her back to the pavilion. Railways seemed to be in a commanding position when they had the Andhra top order back in the hut. Middle order batswomen Chandra Lekha and Kalpana stitched a much needed partnership of 52 runs. They tested the patience of Railways women as they battled it out for 16 overs. Once both these batswoman exited, Andhra innings fell like a pack of cards and were bundled out for 132 runs. Ekta Bisht was the pick of the bowlers claiming 3/15.

Once again Railways failed to start their innings on a positive note. Opening batswoman Thirushkamini was out LBW in the 7th over by Jhansi Lakshmi for a paltry sum of 6 runs. Mithali Raj came in to bat at no. 3 and played a captain’s knock. She remained unbeaten on 72 hitting 9 boundaries. She got a good support from the other end as well. Poonam Raut (34) and Harmanpreet Kaur(22*) contributed to Railways 8-wicket victory over Andhra women. The strong batting line up of Railways made the Andhra bowlers look ordinary. Jhansi Lakshmi and Dhathri managed to pick up one wicket apiece.

Railways have got it right two out of two times and are comfortably sitting at the top of the Elite Group A table with 8 points. Andhra women are yet to open their account.