Women’s U23 One Day Trophy: Odisha beat Haryana to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat
The fortunes of the Women’s U23 One Day Trophy match between Odisha and Haryana swung like a pendulum of a clock. The game went all the way down to the wire with Odisha winning the thrilling contest by two wickets, chasing 138 in 47.5 overs with 13 balls to spare on Thursday at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium in Thane.
Batting first, Haryana were bowled out for a below-par 137 in 40.3 overs. Odisha had an exceptional day with the ball, with Bijaya Behera claiming 3/19. Behera was well-supported by Subhra Swain (2/29) and Sonali Hembram (2/22), who snapped two wickets apiece. Haryana’s captain, Sonia Mendhiya, was the lone warrior in the fight as she top-scored with 67 runs off 71 balls, including seven hits to the fence.
In reply, what was expected to be a relatively easy run chase turned out to be a nail-biting contest. Odisha’s opening batter, Tanmayee Behera, who had struck a century here at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium on January 28, again provided a steady start to her team. The left-hander held one end and scored a patient 46 from 112 balls. Having done the hard work, she perished in the 38th over, with her team still needing 48 runs to win.
Haryana fancied their chances as they saw the back of Tanmayee. However, GM Alakananda (22 runs off 31 balls) and Taranna Pradhan (20 not out of 26 balls) had other plans. The duo stitched a match-winning 44-run partnership for the eighth wicket and helped their side clinch a memorable win.
After the match, talking to Know Your Town, Alakananda said, “We wanted to fight till the end. We did not think about losing. Rather, we were confident that if we played till the end, we would win. I only told Taranna when she came out to bat to hit the ball, and I would run to get to the other end.”
Taranna added, “There was a lot of pressure on us. But we knew that if both of us (Alakananda and Taranna) could stitch a partnership, we would win. The pitch assisted the spinners, and Haryana had some good spinners in their bowling attack. So, we decided to set small targets for us, and as we achieved those, we could sense the pressure building on the opposition.”
Alakananda and Taranna have been friends for the last eight to nine years and have been involved in many such partnerships in crunch situations.
While Haryana failed to bowl out Odisha, one of the positives for them in the bowling department was the performance of their left-arm wrist spinner Amandeep Kaur, who accounted for 2/20 in 10 overs, including three maidens.
Left arm wrist spin among women cricketers in India is quite rare. Amandeep said, “Left arm wrist spin comes naturally to me. The day I picked up the ball to play cricket, I bowled wrist spin. I have been training since 2017 at Kurukshetra in Haryana. There, my coach has worked a lot on bowling. I do a lot of drills, including underhand drills, flicks, etc. and spot bowling, to hone my skills. I also watch the videos of Kuldeep Yadav, Brad Hogg, and Shane Warne to learn more about wrist spin and body alignment.”
Amandeep has been picked by Mumbai Indians for the WPL 2024. Remembering the auction day, she said, “It was a great moment for me. I had expectations to get picked this time since I had performed well in the selection trials and had a good T20 season. I am thrilled to be a part of Mumbai Indians, a team I have been a fan of. I am eager to play under Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy. I want to learn how the batters think and develop tactics to outthink them. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Haryana Cricket Association and my coaches, Ashwani sir and Anirudh sir, for all the support.”
In the Women’s U23 One Day Trophy so far, Odisha have registered three wins in four matches, whereas Haryana have won two and lost two in their four outings.
The next Women’s U23 One Day Trophy match at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium will be played on Saturday between Goa and Rajasthan.