Shrachi Rarh Tigers displayed a dominant all-round performance to outclass Harbour Diamonds by 23 runs in the Bengal Pro T20 League 2024 at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. 

The Rarh Tigers won the toss and decided to bat first as captain Shahbaz wanted to put runs on the board on a wicket where chasing has been tough in the last few days. However, that decision fired back as they lost four wickets within 16 runs and they looked in trouble. 

But experienced Arindam Ghosh and Shahbaz Ahmed bailed them out. Shahbaz got dismissed after scoring a quick-fire 30 from 16 balls while Arindam remained unbeaten on 54 from 46 balls to guide them to 141/7 in the first inning. Pradipta Pramanik slogged hard to score 26 from 13 balls in the lower order.

Mohammed Kaif and Aritra Chatterjee were the pick of the bowlers with three and two wickets against their names respectively. 

In the second inning, Harbour Diamonds lost their opener Abhijeet Bhagat in the second over and Manoj Tiwary walked out to bat at number three. However, the veteran batter could not get himself going for long as he was dismissed for 17 off 20 balls. 

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Prayas Ray Burman was given a controversial LBW by the fourth umpire and the Diamond's middle order started feeling the pressure of the asking rate. Sayan Shekhar Mondal (51) tried his best to keep up with the rate and played some great shots to reach his fifty but soon lost his wicket after the landmark.

Eventually, the Diamonds fell 23 runs short of the target as Suman Das, Arnab Nandi and Shahbaz Ahmed returned with two wickets each for Rarh Tigers.

Bengal cricket has always given some great women's international cricketers over the years. From Jhulan Goswami of the past to Richa Ghosh of the present, Bengal has been a breeding ground for some excellent women's cricketers. During the inaugural Women's Bengal Pro T20 League 2024, Sportz Point found another cricketer who can go on and mark her presence in international cricket in future. 

Debjani Das, age 14, comes from Chinsurah, a place famous for having top-class players like Titas Sadhu, Anustup Majumdar and more, is all set to be the future star from Bengal.

Debjani bowls left-arm left-arm wrist spin and can tonk the ball very far too. The young spinner is as tall as 5 feet 8 inches and can be a surprise element for any team. All of this combination along with a calm head over the shoulders makes her a prospect for Indian cricket. 

Debjani's father Partha Das, a carpenter by profession never stopped her from having a dream and her mother Pratima Das always pushes her to chase those dreams without worrying about anything.

"My parents never stopped me from playing cricket. They have always backed me to go for my dreams," Debjani told Sportz Point.

Athletics to cricket: Cricket was always in her fate

The class eight student of Bani Mandir School comes from an athletic background which helps her with that extra speed on the field. Debjani used to run 100m and 200m and wanted to pursue a career in athletics. But, her fate took her to cricket. 

"I used to do athletics, like 100m and 200m events. But, one uncle saw me and said that in athletics to get glory you need to be first, second or third. But, in team sports, you can achieve more things by just being in the eleven. So, I went to see a practice session of our district team and joined a cricket camp after that."

Read Also: From Chakdah to Lords: Adios, Jhulan Goswami 

The accidental spinner

But, just like most of spinners, Debjani too is an accidental spinner. Three years back when she had started her cricket career, Debjani used to be a left-arm pacer. It was her inability to swing the ball back into the right-hander, that brought her to left-arm left-arm wrist spin bowling. 

"As a left-arm pacer, I only had the outswinger. Jana sir told me to try left-arm wrist spin. I did not have any idea about left-arm wrist spin bowling before that," Das shared. 

Debjani in her short career has already played for the Bengal U-15 team and has been selected for the upcoming VISION camp as well. Along with that, she has also been in the National Cricket Academy for a camp and has learnt a lot from there.

"I worked a lot on the run-up and control at the NCA. Earlier I used to bowl around the wicket. Now I am bowling more over the wicket and I think I have better control now as a bowler."

Read Also: Women's Cricket Exclusive: Bowls fast, hits it long, runs 2km under 8 min, Titas Sadhu is ready for bigger stage

Jhulan Goswami's tips on her bowling

But, it was Jhulan Goswami's praise during one of the U-15 practices that made Debjani more confident and till then became more aware of her game. Furthermore, the legendary bowler shared some valuable tips on her bowling which already made her a better player.

"Jhulan madam gave me a few tips during the U-15 days. She advised me to get better with my run-up and have a top arm bowling action, which is helping me a lot," Debjani shared.

Big fan of Kuldeep Yadav

Just like most of the left-arm wrist spin bowlers in the world, Debjani is a fan of Kuldeep Yadav and wants to have control like the Indian men's cricket team superstar. 

"I am a very big fan of Kuldeep Yadav. I like his control. I want to have that in my bowling as well."

Along with her bowling, Debjani is really serious about her batting and even everyone who has seen her play believes she can be an asset with the bat. Though Debjani had to bat in the lower order, she feels she can add more value to batting in the middle order.

"I think I can contribute with batting as well. I generally love to bat in the middle order. With time, I want to get better as a batter as well and contribute to the team's success," Debjani stated.

Adamas Howrah Warriors women’s team faced second defeat in a row after suffering a loss at the hands of Harbour diamonds on Tuesday in Salt Lake, Kolkata. 

After being asked to field first, Adamas bowlers were able to restrict the opponents to 100 in the first inning. However, during the chase they fell short by 8 runs. 

Sushmita Ganguly struck early to get two wickets in her first over and captain Dhara Gujjar sent back Payel Vakharia to give the momentum the team needed within the first few overs.

Ganguly then got the better off a set Jhumia Khatun and Adamas were all set to all out them to a very low total. However a 32-run stand for the seventh wicket between Ratna Barman and Jhumpa Roy took Diamnods’ total to 100/7 in the first inning. 

Sushmita Ganguly returned with a bowling figure of 19/3 for Adamas Howrah Warriors.

During the chase, openers Dhara Gujjar and Sushmita Ganguly provided the exact momentum the management were looking for.

36 runs within the power play were already scored when Ganguly departed for 15. But Dhara Gujjar’s (13) dismissal in the next over made the target look stiffer for a young batting lineup like Adamas Howrah Warriors.

Diya Nandi (14), Prativa Mandi (17) tried their best against experienced bowlers like Jhumia Khatun and Sukanya Parida, but eventually fell short of the target by 8 runs.

Jhumia Khatun with a bowling figure of 11/2 was the player of the match.

Sobisco Smashers Malda defeated Adamas Howrah Warriors in the Women's Bengal Pro T20 League 2024 on Monday, in Salt Lake, Kolkata. Adamas' batters fell short by 23 runs while chasing 105 runs. 

Hrishita Basu won the toss and decided to put runs on the board. Adamas Howrah Warriors bowlers welcomed the decision with great disciplined bowling. Prativa Mandi bowled two consecutive maidens while Sushmita Ganguly and Parama Mondal took the wickets to break the backbone of the opponent's batting lineup.

However, Malda's captain Hrishita Basu and Piyali Ghosh's fifty-run partnership for the fourth wicket helped them cross the 100-run mark. Basu scored 44 from 41 balls, while Ghosh scored 23 from 31 balls as they finished at 104/7 in the first inning.

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For Adamas Howrah Warriors, Prativa Mandi returned with 4/2 in 3 overs.

During the chase, Dhara Gujjar's unfortunate run out put the whole batting lineup under pressure, and the rest of the batters could not get out of it. Though Madhurima Prasad and Prativa Mandi tried their best to build a partnership, the asking run rate kept increasing with every dot ball.

In the end, Adamas Howrah Warriors batters could only score 81/9 in the second inning. After two defeats in three games, the women's team now stands at number six in the points table while Malda are at number three. 

Adamas Howrah Warriors men’s team faced a tough loss at the hands of the group toppers Sobisco 
Smashers Malda on Sunday, at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in the Bengal Pro T20 League 2024. Bowling first, Adamas were able to restrict 
Malda to 122 runs. However, the batters were not able to chase the score down and lost the game by 
36 runs.

Read Also: Lowest Targets defended in T20 World Cups

Anustup Majumdar won the toss and decided to field first. Kanishk Seth provided the start Adamas 
Howrah Warriors were looking for. Seth dismissed Malda's player of the match from the last match as 
Jayojit Basu went back to the dressing room.  

Raju Halder then got the better of Ranjot Singh Khaira, and soon Soummyadip Mondal dismissed 
Bhoirob De Sarkar to break the top order of Sobisco Smashers Malda. But Writtick Chatterjee played 
a good knock of 30 from 24 balls to solidify their inning.  

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Post Chatterjee's wicket, Aamir Gani trapped Kaif Ahmed in front and Adamas' bowlers were looking 
to bundle them out below a hundred. However, a few contributions from the lower-order batters 
took their score to over a hundred.  

Saksham returned with two wickets, and Malda were eventually bundled out for 122.  
During the chase, tough times continued for Adamas' openers as Shakir Habib Gandhi returned for 
four. Captain Mukesh Kumar was too hot to handle with the new ball and took two wickets without 
even giving away any runs. 

Anustup Majumdar looked good for his 23 but lost his stumps to Akhil. Post that, Adamas batters 
could not get going and after Pramod Chandila's (18) unfortunate stumping, it became tougher for 
the lower order to keep up with the asking rate.

Read Also: Shahbaz stars for Shrachi Rarh Tigers to beat Harbour Diamonds in Bengal Pro T20 League

In the end, Mukesh finished with 9/4 and Adamas Howrah Warriors fell short by 36 runs.  

Adamas Howrah Warriors defeated Rashmi Medinipur Wizards by seven wickets on Saturday at the JU Second Campus Ground, Kolkata to earn their first points of the match. Adamas were able to restrict the opponents to 117/2 in the first inning and then chased down the target with four balls to spare. Dhara Gujjar played a stunning knock of 60 runs to guide Adamas Howrah Warriors home in Bengal Pro T20 League 2024.

Adamas Howrah Warriors captain Dhara Gujjar won the toss and decided to field first on a sunny morning in Salt Lake, Kolkata. However, the bowlers could not provide the start the captain was looking for with the ball. 

Despite not getting breakthroughs, the bowlers started getting their rhythm back and put a stop to the run flow after the powerplay. Dyuti Paul and Trishita Sarkar kept ticking away with singles and doubles for Rashmi Medinipur Wizards.

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But, under the scorching heat, the young openers started struggling with cramps. Both Dyuti and Trishita (42 from 53 balls) had to retire hurt and Adamas’ bowlers grabbed the momentum from there on. 

Though Dyuti returned to the crease after the fall of the second wicket, Medinipur could only put 117 runs on the board in the first inning. Sushmita Ganguly and Prativa Mandi took one wicket each for Adamas Howrah Warriors.

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During the chase, Adamas sent Sushmita Ganguly up the order to get the run rate up in the powerplay. However, she could only add 10 runs from 11 balls.

But it was captain Dhara Gujjar who first consolidated the inning with singles and doubles and then changed her gear to hit boundaries at will. Dhara remained calm even under scorching heat and kept finding gaps every now and then. 

Meantime Shrabani Paul gave Dhara the perfect support to take the game close. Dhara completed a stunning fifty and unfortunately was run out after her excellent 60 from 59 balls. Dhara and Paul’s solid 67-run partnership in 66 balls took the game away from Medinipur and after Dhara’s dismissal, Shrabani (28 from 34 balls) made sure to stay till the end to ensure the win.