Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy: Dhara’s century powers Bengal into final, eliminates defending champion Railways

Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy: Dhara’s century powers Bengal into final, eliminates defending champion Railways

Dhara Gujjar’s run-a-ball 123 (123b, 16×4) guided Bengal to a six-wicket win over defending champion Railways in the semifinals of the Senior Women’s one-day trophy at the Niranjan Shah Stadium here on Friday.

Railways, asked to bat, posted a formidable 300 for five thanks to C.H. Jhansi Lakshmi and Nuzhat Parween’s centuries.

Bengal, which chased down a record target against Haryana in the quarterfinals, relied on Gujjar’s hundred and Mita Paul’s half-century to achieve another big task and book a place in the final.

Bengal will meet Madhya Pradesh, which rode on Shuchi Upadhyay’s five-wicket haul to defeat Mumbai by seven wickets, in the title clash on Monday.

Left-handed opener Lakshmi (120, 140b, 16×4), who excelled with her timing, and wicketkeeper-batter Nuzhat (116, 118b, 12×4), who mixed her shots to find the gaps, added 217 runs for the second wicket and enabled Railways to score a challenging total.

Bengal captain Saika Ishaque captured three wickets with her left-arm spin.

In Bengal’s reply, southpaw Dhara stepped out regularly to gather runs on either side. She stood for a 76-run stand with Tanusree Sarkar before forming a crucial 152-run partnership with Mita (76, 66b, 11×4).

Even though Dhara and Mita fell in quick succession, Priyanka Bala (20 n.o., 19b, 2×4) and Prativa Rana (14 n.o., 16b, 1×4) ensured victory.

“We looked to take the match deep. My partnership with Mita helped us a lot,” said player-of-the-match Dhara.