The juggernaut rolls on for the women from Indian Railways

Indian Railways executed a ridiculously easy nine wicket victory over North Zone in the CricInfo Rani Jhansi Trophy at the SRMC ground in Chennai today. After winning the toss and electing to bat, North were bundled out for the lowest score of the tournament so far, mustering a mere 49 runs that left their opponents with the modest requirement of scoring 50 runs in 50 overs to win the match. Rupanjali Shastri had the most miserly figures amongst the three Railways spinners of 10-5- 6-1 but Neetu David left a greater trail of destruction, taking 3/8 in seven overs. Railways proceeded to polish off the match in the 14th over to take home their fourth successive triumph. Rupanjali and Rajini Sharma delivered the final touches by adding an unbroken 49 for the second wicket.

North openers Rakhi Mehra and Gulshan Sharma provided the brightest moment of the innings with a stand of 24 in just under 12 overs, with Gulshan even having the temerity to score a boundary to third man. But after she gave the simplest of return catches to the left arm medium pacer, Umesh Chaudhary, a procession began to and from the crease even as injured North captain, Richa Dubey, still undergoing treatment for a knee problem, watched resignedly from the sidelines.

Reema Malhotra had hardly got her eye in before trying to pull Umesh away into the nether regions of the on side. She missed and a straightforward leg before decision was handed out. Rupanjali Shastri's loping off breaks were introduced in the 15th over and she frustrated the batsmen with a skilled line. But the next two wickets were to fall unassisted by the bowlers. On both occasions Gurdeep Kaur played the ball into the covers and called but while she made her ground safely, her partners, Rakhi Mehra and Rajni Bhalla did not. The fielder involved in both runouts was Poornima Chaudhary.

Anjuman Bassi came and went for a duck, with a simple top edge being snaffled by the bowler, left arm spinner, Neetu David. Two balls later Gurdeep was gone as well, after scratching around for 37 balls to make 5, when Neetu induced a leading edge that was well taken over her head by Rupanjali at first slip. The scoreboard was not a pretty sight at 38/6 and it ceased to be prettier still when, one run later, Asha Jain gifted her wicket by lobbing Rupanjali straight to Hemlata Kala at mid off for another duck.

Seema Wadhwa and Vandna Gupta put on a gallant nine runs for the eighth wicket during which the former was dropped by Rupanjali at first slip, off Neetu. Railways captain, Deepa Kulkarni, finally decided to play a more active role in the destruction, and finished off the innings in the 35th over, taking two of the last three wickets to fall. Reema's 14 was the highest score, with all but the two openers failing to reach double figures.

North's batswomen had lasted just over two hours and twenty minutes and Railways began their innings before the luncheon interval. They suffered an early hiccup, in the second over, when Poornima Chaudhury failed to clear Anjuman at midwicket as Asha tempted her into pulling a short of length delivery. Rajini Sharma joined Rupanjali and, after an initial period of guardedness, the floodgates gradually opened with Rupanjali cutting Vandna to the square third man fence in the seventh over. The batswomen had to be content with threes on several occasions as the ball slowed down in the neighbourhood of the boundary line. At 1.00 p.m., both captains consented to postpone their lunch in the pursuit of a result. Sure enough, the mockery of a contest came to a merciful halt with the clock reading twelve minutes past one after both Rajni and Rupanjali ravished Anjuman with a boundary apiece in the 14th and last over of the innings.