ARYA Pongde’s fine unbeaten century went in vain as Vidarbha girls went down by four wickets to Rajasthan in the prequarter-final of the U-15 Women’s One-Day Trophy on Tuesday at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. Batting first, Vidarbha posed 178 for one in 35 overs. Arya was in her elements as she smacked an unbeaten 120 off 127 balls with 17 hits to the fence. She added 38 runs for the opening wicket with Kadambari Thakare (7) before the latter retired hurt. Next Arya joined forces with captain Sakshi Bhupal and added 47 runs before the latter was dismissed for 18. Arya and Veera Donode (24*) were then involved in an unfinished stand of 93 runs off 82 balls to pilot Vidarbha to a competitive score.

 

In reply, Rajasthan made steady progress and in spite of losing the odd wicket, their batter kept ahead of the asking rate. Arya bowled well and took two wickets but Kavya Bishnoi (44) and Priti Kasana, who top-scored with an unbeaten 68, saw their team home with 13 deliveries to spare. It was a heart-break for Vidarbha girls once again as they had lost to Haryana in quarter-final last season. Brief scores: Vidarbha: 178-1 in 35 overs (Arya Pongde 120 Not Out, Veera Donode 24 Not Out). Rajasthan: 179-6 in 32.5 overs (Kavya Bishnoi 44, Priti Kasana 68 Not Out; Vrishti Deshpande 2-25, Arya Pongde 2-47). Result: Rajasthan won by 4 wickets.