Kolkata: The Women’s Bengal T20 League produced two exciting contests on Monday as Rashmi NES Medinipur Wizards edged past Novus Royals Purulia by one run, while Murshidabad Kueens handed Adamas Howrah Warriors their first defeat of the season.
In the first match of the day, Rashmi NES Medinipur Wizards posted 146/6 after a solid batting effort led by Ipshita Mondal and Adrija Sarkar, who scored 37 and 36 respectively. Despite a strong start, the Wizards were unable to fully capitalise in the closing overs, with Diya Nandi emerging as the pick of the Novus Royals Purulia bowlers with figures of 3/25.
Chasing 147, Novus Royals Purulia started well and were in a strong position during the chase. Skipper Dhara Gujjar led the scoring, but Rashmi NES Medinipur Wizards fought back in the closing stages. Ipshita Mondal picked up the important wickets of Dhara Gujjar and Priyanka Goldar in the 19th over. Needing eight runs from the final over, Purulia could only manage 145/8 and fell short by one run.
The second match saw Murshidabad Kueens hand Adamas Howrah Warriors their first defeat of the season with a four-wicket victory. Batting first, the Warriors posted 132/5, thanks to another impressive knock from Sujata Dey, who remained unbeaten on 69 off 54 balls. Shivanshi Tiwari was the standout performer with the ball for the Kueens, returning figures of 2/10 and helping keep the Warriors in check.
In reply, Murshidabad Kueens lost early wickets and faced a tough chase. Captain Tanushree Sarkar contributed 36, while Marjina Khatun’s 34 off 19 balls kept the chase alive. The Kueens needed 35 runs from the final three overs and eventually crossed the line with one ball remaining, thanks to a boundary from Roshni Tiwari.
