Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Ranchi witnessed a batting exhibition of the highest quality as Purvaja Verlekar produced a magnificent unbeaten century to guide Goa to a convincing 51 run victory over Mighty Hyderabad in the Elite Group Women’s List A match of the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy at the JSCA Oval Ground.
Electing to bat first, Goa suffered an early setback with both openers Harshita and Vinavi dismissed without scoring. From a shaky start, Purvaja took complete control of the innings and anchored the recovery with exceptional maturity. She remained unbeaten on a brilliant 166 from 152 balls, striking 19 boundaries and two sixes, and carried her bat through the entire innings to lift Goa to a commanding total of 294 for eight in 50 overs.
Purvaja received valuable support from the middle order at crucial stages. Tanisha Gaikwad played a steady knock of 35 to help Goa cross the 100 run mark, while a vital partnership with Poorva Bhaidkar shifted the momentum firmly in Goa’s favour. Poorva contributed an important 37, ensuring the innings did not lose tempo. Towards the end, Athashree Shivarkar added a useful 22 to push the score close to the 300 run mark.
Hyderabad began their chase on a positive note with G Trisha and Sandhya Gora putting together a 72 run opening stand. Sandhya held the innings together with a well compiled 83, but wickets kept falling at the other end and the required rate continued to climb.
Goa’s bowlers delivered disciplined spells to maintain pressure throughout the innings. Shreya Parab was the standout performer with figures of three for 35, while Pooja Kalel, Tejashwini Duragad and Purvaja Verlekar provided crucial breakthroughs at key moments. Once Sandhya was dismissed, the chase gradually lost direction and Hyderabad were eventually bowled out for 243 in 46.5 overs.
The comprehensive victory highlighted Goa’s strong all round display, built on sensible partnerships and effective bowling. Purvaja Verlekar’s marathon innings proved to be the decisive factor and will be remembered as one of the finest performances of the tournament.
