NAGPUR: Vidarbha girls may have lost the final of BCCI Under-15 Women's One-Day Trophy to Haryana on Thursday, but they won hearts. Almost every former Vidarbha women's player, and those who follow women's cricket, took to social media congratulating the young girls for what they achieved, something no Vidarbha team has done before.
Vidarbha's unbeaten streak of 8 matches came to an end when Haryana skipper Tanishka Sharma (102 n.o; 107b, 8x4, 3x6) hit a century and took her side to a 57-run win in the title clash of the inaugural edition.
Riding on Tanishka's knock at a strike rate of 95, Haryana made a handsome 187 for 3 in 35 overs. Later, they bundled Vidarbha out for 130 in 32.4 overs.
Vidarbha opener Ashwini Deshmukh (51; 69b, 5x4), who is the highest run-getter for Vidarbha with 343 runs, and promising allrounder Shraddha Nabira (36; 48b, 4x4) did their best to keep Vidarbha in the match. They were involved in a 67-run partnership for the second wicket after a slow start.
However, as soon as Shraddha got run out, becoming the second wicket to fall, Vidarbha lost the plot. In the next 42 runs, the runners-up outfit lost eight wickets in 62 balls.
The Riya Baniya-led under-15 side is the first women's team in Vidarbha history to play the all-India final. Earlier in 2010-11, Vidarbha under-19 side led by Mona Meshram had played the Plate Group final.
BRIEF SCORES: Haryana 187 for 3 in 35 overs (Tanishka Sharma 102 n.o., Deepika Kumari 50) beat Vidarbha 130 all out in 32.4 overs (Ashwini Deshmukh 51, Shraddha Nabira 36; Aadya Gupta 3/22, Samiksha Yadav 2/18) by 57 runs
