Punjab girls beat Maharashtra, enter final

Chandigarh, March 11

An all-round show helped Punjab register a seven-wicket win over Maharashtra in their last Super League Group A match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday and enter the finals of the Senior Women's T20 League. 

In the final, scheduled to be held on March 13, Punjab will take on Super League Group B toppers Karnataka. 

Opting to bowl, Punjab bundled out Maharashtra for 120 runs in 19.3 overs after Mehak Kesar (3/13) and Neelam Bisht (3/17) shared six wickets between them. 

Wicketkeeper-batter SS Shinde and TS Hssabinis batted well and stitched a 53-run partnership for the third wicket after Maharashtra lost opener DP Vaidya (0) and Smriti Mandhana (6) for 28 runs.  However, with Amarpal Kaur running out Shinde on 48, Maharashtra lost their remaining seven wickets for just 39 runs to close their innings on 120. 

Chasing a modest total for victory, Ridhima Aggarwal and Jasia Akhter provided a solid start to the Punjab innings. The duo added 65 runs for the opening wicket before DP Vaidya dismissed Jasia on 38. 

Fifteen balls later, Vaidya removed Ridhima (26) to reduce Punjab to 73/2. Taniya Bhatia and Amarpal then raised a 39-run stand for the third wicket to push the side close to victory. Taniya was caught by Shinde off Vaidya on 22.  But Amarpal (27) and BN Meena (5) ensured that Punjab reached home without any further damage. — TNS