Kanpur: Opener Nandini Kashyap’s brilliant 85-run knock and her 96-run stand with Neelam (79*) for the fourth wicket helped Uttarakhand beat Uttar Pradesh by five wickets in the Women’s Under-23 One-Day Trophy match played at the Gymkhana Ground in Pune on Saturday.After being invited to bat, Uttar Pradesh posted 228 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs. In reply, Uttarakhand successfully chased the target, scoring 232 for 5 with one over to spare. Uttarakhand made a shaky start while chasing the target, losing openers Sona (14) and Shagun (6) cheaply. Captain Raghvi and Nandini Kashyap attempted to steady the innings, but the skipper was trapped leg before wicket by Archana Devi for 13, leaving the team struggling at 70 for 3. At this stage, Neelam joined Nandini Kashyap and the pair steadied the innings with a vital 96-run stand for the fourth wicket, frustrating the UP bowlers for a long period. After Nandini’s dismissal, Neelam continued the momentum and added another valuable 55 runs for the fifth wicket with Kanika. The duo eventually guided Uttarakhand to victory, scoring the remaining runs with six balls to spare. For Uttarakhand, medium pacer Priyanshi was the most successful bowler with four wickets, while Kanika and Nisha Mishra picked up two wickets each. Brief scores: UP: 228/9 (Sonali Singh 84, Bhumi Singh 78; Priyanshi 4/53, Kanika 2/33, Nisha Mishra 2/36) Uttarakhand: 232/5 (Nandini Kashyap 85, Neelam 79 not out; Sonam Yadav 1/29)
