Women cricketers show their prowess

PATNA: The ecstasy one draws from cheering up Team India has made them play cricket. They are all women and have grown up facing several odds; still their desire to represent India has not got any weaker.
It was visible when young women cricketers, hailing from eight different Bihar districts, ran fast between the wickets at the four-day Inter-district Women's Cricket Tournament here on Notre Dame Academy (NDA) campus on Friday to score maximum possible runs.
It is for the first time that Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) has made an effort to provide a chance to women cricketers of Bihar to prove their mettle. Sister Jayshree Memorial Inter-District Women's Cricket Tournament, the second day of which was played between four teams on Friday, has truly invigorated the passion of Bihar's women cricketers.
The wicketkeeper of Bhagalpur team, Purnima Verma, who made 47 not out to knock out the Purnia team, said: "We have won by seven wickets. This has given us an edge of confidence and we are going to lift the trophy."
Earlier, Purnia team had won the toss and elected to bat first. Its team gave a target of 85 runs to Bhagalpur team. Bhagalpur and Purnia locked horns during the second match on Day 2 on Friday.
The first knockout match on Friday was played between Bhojpur and Sitamarhi teams. After winning the toss, Sitamarhi elected to bat first but its players could not withstand the guile of Bhojpur bowlers. Sitamarhi was all out in only 12 overs, managing to score only 33 runs.
In response, Tanya Mishra-led Bhojpur team made the required 34 runs in only 12 overs and registered a 10-wicket easy win over Sitamarhi.
The semifinal matches will be played on Saturday, while final will be played on Sunday. The four-day-long tournament was formally inaugurated on Thursday by sports minister Sukhda Pandey.
The winners till date include Bhojpur, Bhagalpur, Motihari and Muzaffarpur.
"It is very heartening that the BCA has organized this tournament for the first time in Bihar. It will give us an opportunity to test our capabilities and improve ourselves," said Shilpi Sen of the Patna team. The matches are being enjoyed by hundreds of NDA students.
"We want our women cricketers to grow like under-19 boys cricket team," said a senior BCA member and former Ranji Trophy player, Ram Kumar. NDA teacher R K Poddar said: "We have decided to hold such tournaments regularly from next year onward."