HARD-HITTING batswoman Bharti Fulmali and opener Vaishnavi Khandkar slammed half centuries while Nupur Kohale spun the web with her slow left arm spin bowling as Vidarbha thrashed Meghalaya in their opening encounter of Women’s One-Day Cricket Tournament at VB Nest Ground, in Chennai on Saturday. In their Elite Group E opener Vidarbha drubbed Meghalaya by a whopping 146 runs to earn four full points. Winning the important toss and batting first, Vidarbha had a shaky start as they lost opener Sapna Meshram in the second over. But Khandkar (54) and Fulmali (72) took the charge from there on and added 127 runs for the second wicket.

 

While Bharti was severe on all Meghalaya bowlers with her 72-ball 72, Vaishnavi played second fiddle with a sedate 92-ball 54 runs. Her knock had seven boundaries while Bharti hit nine balls to the fence. Vidarbha’s middle and lower order could not muster much runs as they were bundled out for 196 in 47.1 overs. For Meghalaya, Daiaka, Ahireeta and L Tamang took two wickets each. In reply, Meghalaya were shot out for a paltry 50 runs in 19.1 overs. Nupur Kohale displayed super spin bowling as she scalped three wickets conceding just five runs from 3.1 overs. The other wicket takers for Vidarbha were Aayushi Thakre, who took two and captain Komal Zanzad, Gargi Wankar, Disha Kasat and Khandkar who all took one each. Vidarbha will play their next match on Monday against Tamil Nadu.