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Andhra and Vidarbha will clash in the third quarterfinal of the Women’s Senior One Day Trophy on Tuesday.
Andhra were rampant in the Group Stage as they won all five of their group stage matches. They finished on top of Elite Group C and except a tight encounter against Uttar Pradesh in the first match, Andhra won rest of the matches with convincing margins.
Vidarbha won four of their league games and finished on top of Elite Group E. Their only loss came against Delhi in their fourth match. Vidarbha’s last game was against Karnataka, where they have won by the narrowest margin of 4 runs. Their most significant win of the tournament came against Meghalaya in the first match, defeating them by 146 runs.
Andhra’s last match was against Goa, where they had a convincing victory of 103 runs. The side have played all their five games in Jaipur so far. It was an incredible knock from C.H. Jhansi Laxmi, which helped Andhra post a huge total of 248 runs in their last match. The opener scored a century which helped ensure that her side maintained their 100% winning record.
Vidarbha’s captain, D D Kasat, lead from the front in a must-win encounter against Karnataka in the last match. She scored an unbeaten knock of 126 runs in just 149 balls to help up her side post a fighting total on board.
Key Players
D D Kasat was the standout player for Vidarbha in the last match, scoring runs with the bat and delivering good performance with the ball. The opener smashed 126 runs against Karnataka in a knock that included 15 fours and two maximums. Moreover, she picked up two wickets in her 10-over spell with the ball and conceded just 44 runs. She has been impressed with the ball throughout the tournament and has provided breakthroughs at regular intervals.
C H Jhansi Laxmi scored a match-winning century for Andhra in the last match. Moreover, she remained unbeaten at the crease, taking 131 balls to reach her ton and scoring ten boundaries in her knock. Furthermore, she also had a decent outing with the ball, picking up one wicket in her five-over spell and conceding just 16 runs. She also scored 80 runs against Maharashtra in the fourth game and picking up three wickets for her side. She has been a vital part of Andhra’s squad throughout the tournament.
N Anusha is the captain of Andhra and opens the batting for her side. She was instrumental with the bat in her side’s win over Maharashtra in the fourth game, where she scored 66 runs in just 84 balls, which included eight boundaries. She scored another match-winning half-century against Chandigarh, scoring 55 runs in 77 balls, including six fours and one maximum. It was her knock that helped her side chased down a tricky target of 176 runs against Chandigarh.
Vaishnavi Khandkar is a handy all-rounder who sometimes opens the innings for Vidarbha. She picked up four wickets against Tamil Nadu that helped her side win the match convincingly after failing to impact the bat. In the last game against Karnataka, she bowled five overs and picked up a wicket, conceding 29 runs. Against Meghalaya, she was impressed with the ball once again, picking up two wickets in her seven over spell and conceding 35 runs. However, her poor performance with the bat has seen her drop to the lower order from where she can carry on with her attacking style of play.
Prediction
On paper, Andhra are clearly the stronger of the two sides, having won all five of their league stage matches. Vidarbha have also been impressive this tournament, and have played as a unit and just managed to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Andhra’s openers have done the most damage so far, with captain N Anusha and all-rounder C H Jhansi Laxmi delivering consistent performances with the bat. V Pushpa Lata is another key player for Andhra, who bats in the middle order and scored 83 runs in her last match against Goa. Vidarbha’s bowling attack will have to pick up early wickets if they are to stay in the game, or else Andhra have enough quality in their batting department to take the match away from the opposition.
D D Kasat will be Vidarbha’s key player in the crunch quarterfinal clash as the team will rely on her to deliver a good performance with the bat and ball. B S Fulmali has been an essential part of Vidarbha’s middle order, scoring a few handy knocks, whereas N T Kohala has been one of the standout bowlers for her side. She picked up three wickets in her last match, conceding just 34 runs in 10 overs.
