Bengaluru/Bhubaneswar: Odisha women's cricket team beat Kerala by a narrow margin of eight runs to become the plate group champions in the Senior Women's T20 League played in Bengaluru.
Chasing 109 runs to win, Kerala was bowled out for 100 runs in 19.2 overs in a low-scoring yet thrilling match. For Odisha, international spinner Rasanara Parwin, Sujata Mallick and Sushree Dibyadarshini picked up two wickets each while Priyanka Priyadarshini and Madhusmita Behera claimed one apiece.
Kerala opener Shani T managed to score 48 but wickets kept on falling at the other end. Minnu Mani and Akshaya A added 20 and 17 runs respectively in the middle-order.
Earlier in the game, international batswoman Madhuri Meheta and skipper Madhusmita Behera played steady knocks of 28 and 26 runs respectively and added 49 runs for the opening wicket to give Odisha a solid start. In the middle order, Pragyan Mohanty, Kadambini Mahakud and Sarita Meher scored 16, 12 and 15 runs, respectively for Odisha with the team finishing with a total of 108/5 in allotted 20 overs.
Earlier in the tournament, Odisha defeated the home side Karnataka to book a place in the final.