Mumbai’s Vrushali Bhagat and Soumya Singh echo carpe diem!
Mumbai made two changes to their playing XI for the final match of Senior Women’s T20 Trophy against Bengal on Tuesday at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Opener Vrushali Bhagat and left arm spinner Soumya Singh made a comeback into the side having missed playing in all three knock-out matches (pre-quarter final, quarter final, and semi-final). These two changes could have gone either way but in the hindsight, it was a masterstroke. Vrushali and Soumya were arguably the two main architects for Mumbai as they played a pivotal role in helping the defending champions retain their coveted title.
In the first innings, Soumya spun a web around the Bengal batters as she scalped two wickets conceding just 11 overs in her miserly spell of four overs. The Dahisar-based tweaker, who once dreamt of becoming a wicket-keeper, ended up as the most economical bowler for her side in the final clash against Bengal on Tuesday. She dismissed former Bengal captain Mita Paul (7) and Sasthi Monda (1) in the 11th over pushing the visitors on the backfoot.
While Soumya did her job with the ball, it was time for Vrushali to prove her mettle and her selection in this all-important game. Opening the batting with her skipper Humairaa Kaazi, the 26-year-old right-hander took the attack to the opposition from the word go. She played some good-looking shots on both the sides of the pitch muscling a power-packed 45 from 39 balls. Her unbeaten innings was laced with half a dozen boundaries. Besides her attacking gameplay, she ran hard between the wickets, scoring 15 singles and three twos.
Mumbai is known for their khadoos cricket, and on the d-day when it mattered the most, two of its players, Vrushali and Soumya showed the way.