Women’s U23 One Day Trophy: Sikkim’s Pretika, Samayita outbat Mizoram by 97 runs
Sikkim registered their first win in this Women’s U23 One Day Trophy, beating Mizoram by 97 runs on Tuesday at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium in Thane.
Riding on power-packed performances from their opening batter Pretika Chhetri (91 runs off 123 balls; 4×8, 6×1) and Samayita Roy Pradhan (93 not out off 75 balls; 4×11), Sikkim posted a challenging score of 281/7 in their full quota of 50 overs. Playing their second match at this venue, Sikkim got off to a solid start, thanks to their openers Chhetri and Yuden (38 runs off 67 balls; 4×1), who put together 118 runs in 24.3 overs. Picking up from where she had left off in her last outing at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium when she scored 93, Samayita joined hands with Chhetri to stitch another 94 runs in partnership for the second wicket. On the other hand, Mizoram had a tough day with the ball, with Sandhia Rai (3/52) being the only exception.
Reflecting on her performance, Samayita told Know Your Town, “The pitch was good to bat on, but it was difficult initially. Today, I was prepared to play an unbeaten innings and am glad things worked out well. The two pull shots that I played in my innings gave me a lot of confidence. Mizoram bowled well. However, there were the occasional loose deliveries on which I capitalised.”
Likewise, Pretika, who has also played Football at the national level, expressed, “I wanted to play for all 50 overs. I did not want to throw away my wicket. It was a great day for me as I scored my first half-century at the domestic level and hit my first six in this tournament. During our opening partnership, we were constantly talking to each other. We aimed to bat for at least the first 20 overs and create a foundation for the batters to follow. We had a forgettable last match, and in this game, we wanted to prove ourselves so that no team would take us lightly.”
Mizoram had a Herculean task ahead of them, as they needed 282 for a win. They were bowled out cheaply in their last two matches (6 vs Goa and 45 vs Odisha), so they put forth a much better batting performance. They batted for 49.3 overs and piled up 184. Wicket-keeper-batter PC Van Sang Zuali starred with the bat as she scored 84 runs off 142 balls, an innings laced with 13 fours. However, this right-handed batter found no able allies as Sikkim bowlers kept coming at them. The pace duo of Leeza (3/34) and Sabita (3/21) claimed three scalps to break the back of Mizoram’s batting.
Talking to Know Your Town, Zuali said, “We did not bat well in the last two matches. In this match, I was determined to do well. Though I did not do anything different, I felt more confident. I could hit fours at will. After this performance, I am confident I can score a century in this tournament.” She added, “Before the start of this competition, we, as a team, practised for a couple of weeks. We mostly trained in indoor facilities as we do not have many cricket grounds in Mizoram. Most of the players in our team play Football too, which keeps them fit.”
Both teams have played three matches apiece in this ongoing Women’s U23 One Day Trophy, with Sikkim winning one and Mizoram still searching for their first victory.