Pithoragarh Hurricanes defeat Mussoorie Thunders in opening match of Women's Uttarakhand Premier League

Dehradun, Sep 23 (IANS) Pithoragarh Hurricanes’ impressive all-round display earned them a 7-wicket win against defending champions Mussoorie Thunders in the season opener of the Women's Uttarakhand Premier League on Tuesday.

Former Thunders skipper Mansi Joshi donned the Hurricanes’ colors and started the second season with a wicket maiden over. Joshi’s spell of 1/3 in 2 overs was crucial, while Isha Gulreia and Rudra Sharma picked 2 wickets each in the first innings.

The new Mussoorie Thunders skipper, Amisha Bahukhandi, opted to bat first, and the decision didn’t prove to be the best one for her side. After struggling for much of the powerplay phase, the Mussoorie-based team put 25/2 on the board at the end of the sixth over.

Reena Jindal anchored the innings, scoring 24 off 37 before Vaishali Tulera got the better of her on the last ball of the 13th over. The Thunders were eventually bundled out for 91 runs, setting a rather achievable target for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes started the run-chase well, courtesy of two boundaries and a maximum from Manisha Kunwar (17 off 21).

After her wicket was scalped by Amisha Bahukhandi, teammate Ananya Mehra (35 off 39) and Nandini Kaushik built a partnership of 53 runs off 55 balls. Ultimately, Kaushik’s unbeaten innings of 31 off 34 steered the Hurricanes home safely, chasing the target within 17 overs.

Ananya Mehra was declared as the Player of the Match for her all-round contribution, picking up 1 wicket for 14 runs from her 3.5 overs, and helping her team with the bat as well. Sunil Kumar Joshi, Chairman, Governing Council, UPL, presented the trophy and a cheque of Rs 10,000 to Ananya.

Uttarakhand Premier League is the state’s premier T20 tournament conducted by the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand. The inaugural season was held in September 2024, involving five men’s and three women’s teams, and was played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun.

The league aims to provide a platform for budding cricketers from the state as they rub shoulders with players who have represented the Indian Team and various IPL and WPL franchises.

--IANS

cs