Purvaja shines in Goa’s victory over Chandigarh

Opener

Purvaja Verlekar

scored a fine 43 in Goa’s 78-run victory over Chandigarh in the opening match of the Women’s Senior One Day Trophy in Jaipur on Friday.

Batting first, Goa scored 173-9. In reply, Chandigarh were bowled out for 95 in 42.2 overs.

Goa were in a trouble when opener Vinavi Gurav was bowled for a duck by Kashvee Gautam. Sunanda Yetrekar (4), captain Shikha Pandey (0) and Sanjula Naik’s (0) quick return to the pavilion also put pressure on Purvaja. Goa were tottering at 17-4 in the sixth over.

Purvaja struck a 60-run partnership with Tejashwini Duragad (21) before both got out in quick succession.

It was the lower order batters who came to Goa’s rescue. Useful contributions from Nikita Malik (16), Diksha Gawde (34*) and Sonali Gaunder (30) ensured they had some runs on the board to defend.

Kashvee Gautam (3-36) and captain Amanjot Kaur (3-42) were the most successful bowlers for Chandigarh.

Shikha and Sanjula made amends with the ball for their batting failures. Shikha ran through Chandigarh batters with 3-10, while Sanjula took three wickets for eight.

Chandigarh were never in contention as they lost wickets regularly. Goa play Rajasthan next on Sunday.

Brief scores: Goa 173-9 (Purvaja Verlekar 43, Diksha Gawde 34*, Sonali Gaunder 30; Kashvee Gautam 3-36, Amanjot Kaur 3-42) bt Chandigarh 95 in 42.2 overs (Manisha Badhan 38; Shikha Pandey 3-10, Sanjula Naik 3-8).