The U-19 girls match in CPL 2021 saw a nerve-wracking encounter at the Thakur Village Cricket Stadium in Kandivali with Bhosale Cricket Academy locking horns with NEGEV Cricket Academy. Bhosale banked on Sanika Chalke’s unbeaten 77-run knock to bear NEGEV by seven wickets with eight balls to spare.
Opting to bat first, NEGEV Cricket Academy batted well to post 151 runs on the board. Openers Tushi Shah and Saloni Kushte gave a blistering start adding 87 runs for the first wicket in just 11.3 overs. The batters came hard against the new ball finding gaps to hit the boundaries.
Tushi launched the onslaught before Saloni shifted gears as the runs came by freely. Against the run of play, Mithali Mhatre drew the first blood removing Tushi, six short of his half-century. But it didn’t deter Saloni from bringing her half-century along with her sides 100.
Sanika Chalke guides Bhosale Cricket Academy home in CPL 2021
When it looked like NEGEV Cricket Academy will take the game away from the opposition, Bhosale Cricket Academy bowlers bowled exceptionally well to keep the run-rate in check. Nandita Trivedi removed Harley Gala just when he was trying to look dangerous before effecting a run-out to slow things down. NEGEV finally managed to post 151 runs on the board.
Chasing a challenging total, Bhosale Cricket Academy were in trouble early on as Harley Gala struck back-to-back wicket to have the batting side at 19 for two in three overs. But since then, it was one-way traffic in favour of Bhosale as Sanika Chalke and Vaibhavi Raja shared a match-winning stand.
They shared a 111-run stand for the third wicket to take the game deep. Sanika, in particular, was exceptional with the bat while Raja was happy to play the second fiddle. They fetched the boundaries at ease to bring the down the equation before NEGEV Cricket Academy removed Vaibhavi Raja against the run of play.
But Sanika Chalke held her nerves to see her team through with seven wickets in hands and eight balls to spare. She remained unbeaten on 77 runs from 60 deliveries with 11 boundaries under his belt.
