Women’s red-ball cricket made a triumphant return to India’s domestic calendar after a six-year hiatus, with the Senior Women Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy kicking off in Pune on March 28. East Zone, led by Deepti Sharma, opted to bat first and put up a formidable 385 for 8 against North East Zone.
East Zone’s innings was anchored by a magnificent 140 from Dhara Gujjar, who batted for 216 balls and struck 22 boundaries. She shared crucial partnerships with Rizu Saha (109 runs) and Durga Murmu (99 runs), consolidating the innings after the early loss of Uma Chetry (47) and Deepti Sharma (49).
North East Zone’s bowling attack was led by Debasmita Dutta, who claimed 5/76 from 32 overs. Yasin Sariba also chipped in with 2/100.
In the other match of the tournament, West Zone dominated Central Zone at the DY Patil Academy in Ambi. West Zone’s spin duo of Anuja Patil (5/75) and Radha Yadav (3/55) shared eight wickets between them, bowling Central Zone out for 245 in 87.3 overs.
Punam Raut top-scored for Central Zone with a resolute 84 off 209 balls, but her efforts were not enough to prevent West Zone from taking a strong position in the match. West Zone ended the day on 26 for no loss, trailing Central Zone by 219 runs.
