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Andhra and Jharkhand will clash against each other in the first semifinal of the Women’s Senior One Day Trophy on Thursday. The match will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
Andhra defeated Vidarbha in the third quarterfinal of the Senior Women’s trophy and managed to continue their unbeaten run. Andhra finished on top of Elite Group C after they managed to win all of their five league matches. It was another dominating performance in the quarterfinals as they thrashed Vidarbha by 49 runs.
On the other hand, Jharkhand finished on the top of Elite Group A after winning four of their five league stage matches. In the quarterfinals, they defeated a strong Karnataka side by just 20 runs to set up a semifinal clash against Andhra.
Andhra have been dominant throughout the tournament and have been rarely tested by the opposition. Their biggest test came in their first match against Uttar Pradesh, whom they defeated by just two wickets. Except their loss against Chhattisgarh in their last league game, Jharkhand have also been in good form and have deservedly booked a place in the semifinals.
It was Jharkhand’s top order that did the job against Karnataka in the quarterfinal as the likes of Rashmi, Indrani Roy and Ritu piled up the runs. In the bowling attack, captain, Niharika was the standout bowler picking up three wickets.
As for Andhra, it was a similar scenario as the likes of N.Anusha, C.H.Jhansi Laxmi and V. Pushpa Latha continued their fine form with the bat, guiding Andhra to a score of 218 runs.
Key Players
C.H. Jhansi Laxmi has been one of the standout performers for Andhra this season. She delivered a stellar performance with both bat and ball on Tuesday and was adjudged the player of the match against Vidarbha. Opening the batting alongside her captain, Laxmi scored 33 runs off 81 balls. However, it was her bowling performance that won the game for her side. She picked up five wickets in 9.2 overs and conceded just 26 runs. In the last league game for Andhra, she scored an unbeaten knock of 100 runs and also picked up one wicket in her five over spell.
N.Anusha, captain of Andhra played a crucial innings for her side as he scored 52 runs against Vidarbha in the quarterfinals. The knock included eight boundaries and she kept the scoreboard ticking. She was instrumental in her side’s victory over Maharashtra in a league game, where she scored 66 runs off 84 balls to guide her team past the finishing line. Anusha also scored a half-century against Chandigarh.
Indrani Roy opens the innings for Jharkhand and played a vital knock in the quarterfinals against Karnataka. The wicket-keeper smashed 86 runs off 91 balls, which included 11 fours. She smashed an unbeaten century against Chattisgarh as her knock of 103 runs helped her side chase down a tricky total of 175 runs. She also scored a hundred against Gujarat in a league game, registering a score of 130 runs off just 132 balls. She has been one of the standout performers for her side throughout the tournament.
Niharika, captain of Jharkhand is a valuable all-rounder who contributes with both bat and ball. She comes into bat in the middle order and scored a valuable knock of 37 runs in the quarterfinals. With the ball, she was even more impressive as she picked up three wickets in her 10 over spell, conceding just 40 runs. She also picked up two wickets against Odisha in the first league game, conceding 40 runs in her seven over spell. With the bat, she scored an unbeaten knock of 24 runs to guide her team past the finishing line.
Prediction
The semifinal clash between the two teams promises to be a high-scoring affair with both sides having some quality batters in their lineup. C.H. Jhansi Laxmi is a key player on Andhra’s side having consistently delivered with both bat and ball. Indrani Roy has scored runs freely this tournament, having already brought up two centuries for Jharkhand.
The semifinal clash will test both teams’ bowling attack as each side will look to stop the batters from piling up the runs. On the bowling side, Andhra have a slight edge because they have managed to bowl out their opposition in four of their six matches so far. B.Anusha picked up three wickets against Goa, whereas the likes of K. Jyothi and E.Padmaja got the job done against Maharashtra by picking two wickets each.
Andhra are coming into the semifinals on the back of six consecutive victories and will be brimming with confidence at the moment. On paper, it is expected to be a tightly contested affair, but Andhra should have enough firepower to edge out Jharkhand and book a final berth.
