Hoshiarpur Women Make History, Defeat

Hoshiarpur/Daljeet Ajnoha/June 18 : Hoshiarpur’s women produced a brilliant performance to beat Barnala by 95 runs in the semi-final of the inter-district Senior Women’s Cricket Tournament organized by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), booking a historic place in the final. HDC A secretary Dr. Raman Ghai provided the details.
In the 50-over semi-final played at Barnala, Barnala won the toss and invited Hoshiarpur to bat. Hoshiarpur posted 195 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs, powered by opener Pooja Devi’s 77, captain Suhana’s 42 and Shivani’s 30; Manpreet Olakh contributed an unbeaten 11. For Barnala, Mamta Rani led the bowling attack with four wickets, while Amarjot Kaur took two; Akshita Bhagat and Sukhmeet Kaur claimed one wicket each.
Chasing 196 for victory, Barnala’s innings collapsed under Hoshiarpur’s disciplined bowling and were all out for 100 in 24.1 overs. National-level player Surbhi starred with the ball, returning figures of 6 for 28. Anjali Seemar took 2 for 22 and Dhruvika Seth dismissed two batters for 27 runs.
Dr. Ghai said the emphatic semi-final win enabled Hoshiarpur to create history by reaching the final. Hoshiarpur will face Patiala in the final on June 21 at PCA Stadium, Chandigarh. He congratulated the team and wished them success in the final.
HDC A president Dr. Daljit Khela expressed his delight at the senior women’s team’s achievement and congratulated the players. He praised the free, high-quality training provided to women cricketers under coach Davinder Kaur Kalyan and assistant coach Nikita Kumari, and urged more women to take up the sport and make Hoshiarpur proud.
Along with congratulations from HDC A joint secretary Vivek Sahni, Thakur Yograj, tournament committee chairman Pankaj Shiv, Subhash Sharma and Jatinder Sood, members of the group association and senior players Amit Thakur, Karnveer, Arjun Kumar, Satpreet Sabi, Daljit Singh, Atul Thakur and coach Tara Chand also lauded the team.
District coach Daljit Singh, district trainer and former India player Kuldeep Dhami, Praveen Shintu, coaches Ashok Kumar, Dinesh Sharma, Pankaj Pinka and groundsman Sodhi Ram extended their best wishes for the final.
Dr. Khela said the HDC A will soon hold a felicitation ceremony to honour the senior women’s team, the Under-16 boys and the Under-15 girls for their notable performances in PCA inter-district tournaments. Dr. Raman Ghai added that all PCA women selectors were present at the semi-final.