Women’s One-Day Trophy: Muskan Malik powers UP to easy win over Pondicherry

Kanpur: A magnificent century by Muskan Malik powered Uttar Pradesh to a convincing 62-run victory over Pondicherry in the Senior Women's One-Day Trophy pool league match at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Monday. Opting to bat, Uttar Pradesh posted an imposing 314 for 5, with Muskan Malik hammering 117 off 131 balls, studded with 11 fours and two sixes. She steadied the innings after the early dismissal of Sampada Dixit (5), forging a crucial second-wicket stand with Varnika. The pair added over 100 runs, with Varnika contributing 64 off 56 balls, including 10 boundaries and a six, before being stumped by Raveena off SA Lonkar.
UP suffered another setback when Nishi Kashyap was dismissed for a duck, but Muskan then found strong support in Sonali Singh. The duo added a match-defining 145 runs for the fourth wicket, frustrating the Pondicherry bowlers. Sonali scored a fluent 68 off 74 balls with eight boundaries before being bowled by Abirame R Nishu Choudhary (35 not out) and skipper Archana Devi (31 not out) added useful runs towards the end. For Pondicherry, Lonkar and Abirame claimed two wickets apiece. In reply, Pondicherry got off to a poor start and were reduced to 36 for 2 within five overs. Sonal and G Divya attempted a recovery with a 44-run stand for the third wicket before Sandhya Chettri dismissed Sonal (15). Divya top-scored for Pondicherry with a fighting 56 off 58 balls, hitting seven boundaries, before being dismissed by Archana Devi. Lonkar was unfortunate to be run out for 31 after adding 51 runs with C Pratyusha (34). Yashi Pandey (28) and Aruna Devi (33) also offered resistance with a 49-run partnership, but the target proved too steep as Pondicherry were bowled out for 252. For UP, Sonali Singh, Arju, Shilpi Yadav and Archana Devi picked up two wickets each. Brief scores: UP: 314 for 5 (Varnika 64, Muskan Malik 117, Sonali Singh 68, Nishu Chaudhary 35; Lonkar 2/56, Abirame R 2/54) Pondicherry: 252 (Divya 56, Pratyusha 34, Yashi Pandey 28, Aruna Devi 33; Sonali Singh 2/36, Arju 2/27, Shilpi Yadav 2/46, Archana Devi 2/58).