The best eleven players from the 2021 USA Women's National Championship are unveiled by DreamCricket, including Player of the Tournament Shebani Bhaskar. 

Image credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter @PeterDellaPenna)

The following is a group of best performers from the recently concluded 2021 USA Women's National Championships in Florida. Players were chosen based on their performances throughout the week of matches at the Broward County Stadium with extra emphasis given to those who excelled under pressure beyond what may show up in statistical data. A reminder that this is a compilation of the top performers at this specific event and not necessarily the best eleven or 14 players that may make up a future USA Women's national team squad selection which also takes into consideration consistent performances over a historical length of time. The squad picked below has been chosen solely by the reporter on site who was present at all matches and does not necessarily reflect the views of USA Cricket women's coaches, selectors, administrators, or DreamCricket website management.
 
1. Gargi Bhogle (West) – Finished seventh overall with 75 runs in four innings at an average of 18.75, including a best of 45 off 54 balls in the second 50-over contest which earned her Player of the Match honors in West’s eight-wicket win. The 18-year-old left-hander from Southern California showed a greater willingness than most to try to hit over the top during the Powerplay overs.
 
2. Nadia Gruny (East) – Finished second overall with 106 runs in four innings at an average of 26.50 including the highest score of the event, 68 off 101 balls in East’s five-wicket win chasing a target of 188 in the third 50-over match. She also finished tied with the second-most boundaries at the event, using creativity around the crease to access leg side gaps in scoring nine fours.
 
3. Shebani Bhaskar (East) – Finished as the leading scorer at the event with 133 runs in five innings at an average of 26.60. Her highest score came at No. 3 in the final match of the tournament, making 47 off 39 balls in East’s five-run win. In the field, she was one of the most nimble and athletic at cutting off runs inside the ring, routinely throwing her body to the turf to save singles.
 


4. Anika Kolan (West, wk) – Finished ninth overall with 51 runs in four innings at an average of 17.00. However, the 14-year-old claimed Player of the Match honors for her unbeaten 25 in a successful chase in the first T20 on Saturday. Kolan was also more than capable behind the stumps in her opportunities to keep wicket splitting duties with Sindhu Sriharsha.
 
5. Sindhu Sriharsha (West, capt.) – Finished sixth overall with 77 runs in five innings at an average of 25.67 including a Player of the Match performance for her 43 not out off 34 balls batting at No. 5 in a 23-run win in the second T20 match. She split wicketkeeping duties with Kolan but was arguably one of the better outfielders at the event when not keeping wicket, including a solid catch on the midwicket boundary to dismiss Bhaskar in the final match of the event.
 
6. Isani Vaghela (West) – The 15-year-old allrounder from northern California finished as the third highest scorer at the event with 103 runs in four innings at an average of 34.33. She was the standout batter in the 50-over contests, making 33 not out off 43 balls to clinch an eight-wicket victory on day two before making 62 off 76 balls in the third 50-over contest, combining with Jivana Aras for a 103-run eighth-wicket stand. A salient feature of her batting was her assured calling and running between the wickets, regularly challenging weak fielders for singles in the ring or turning ones into twos on the boundary to maintain a high strike rate – 80.47, second only to Bhaskar – despite only scoring six boundaries. With the ball, she finished tied for second with five wickets at an average of 20.80 and a slightly expensive economy rate of 5.78. In a tournament featuring generally below average catching, she stood out for taking two sharp catches at extra cover and on the deep midwicket boundary.
 
7. Holly Charles (East) – Finished fifth overall with 78 runs in five innings at a tournament best average of 78, having been dismissed just once on the week. Charles was sent in as a finisher to very good effect, belting nine boundaries, tied for second-most at the event, while batting at a strike rate of 72.90, also fifth best in the event. With the ball, she showed decent pace without getting results in the wickets column, ending with just one scalp on the week.
 
8. Moksha Chaudhary (East) – Finished eighth overall with 56 runs in two innings at an average of 56. This included a crucial 47 not out to help East clinch a five-wicket win in the final 50-over match of the tournament. Chaudhary regularly took the new ball and ended with a respectable 3.59 economy rate in 17 overs across four bowling innings, though she ended with just two wickets.
 
9. Anika Kumar (East) – Finished as the leading wicket-taker at the tournament with six wickets at an average of 9.33 and an economy of 3.69. A disciplined bowler, Kumar was able to regularly challenge for wickets by consistently attacking the stumps with her medium pace and claimed key wickets at important times through the week including Vaghela and Erica Rendler. In her only innings with the bat, the 15-year-old from Maryland scored an unbeaten 15 off 24 balls, including a 41-run stand with Bhaskar, to lift East to a total in the final T20 that wound up being barely defendable.
 
10. Lisa Ramjit (East) – The 16-year-old from Maryland saved her best for last, taking 4 for 17 in a gritty spell of death bowling to ensure East held on for a five-run win in the finale. It meant she ended tied for second overall with five wickets at an average of 14.20 and an economy of 5.07. She was also reasonably sharp in the field, taking a catch off her own bowling in that final match sequence as well as teaming up for a runout. Separately, she took a solid boundary catch at long-on earlier in the week.
 
11. Uzma Iftikhar (West) – The leading spin bowler at the event, Iftikhar finished tied for second with five wickets at an average of 23.60 and an economy of 4.07. She also contributed a crucial 14 not out off 19 balls to help clinch a tight chase in the first T20, teaming with Anika Kolan to get West over the line.
 
Reserves
 
Mahika Kandanala (West) – Finished as the fourth highest scorer at the event with 80 runs in four innings at an average of 26.67 but had the misfortune of producing her best knock – an unbeaten 42 off 62 balls – in the opening match that was halted due to rain. The Dallas area product who turned 20 years old during the tournament was one of the few players unafraid to come down the pitch throughout the week and take on spinners or slow medium pacers by hitting in the air over the infield.
 
Jivana Aras (West) – The 17-year-old from Seattle scored 38 in her only innings of the tournament, teaming with Vaghela in the best partnership of the event, a 103-run stand for the eighth wicket against East in the third 50-over contest. Her left-handed bat and height at the crease provided a solid foil for the right-handed Vaghela to keep bowlers out of rhythm. With the ball she showed promise but lacked consistency in her right-arm medium pace, taking just one wicket in 12 overs.
 
Snigdha Paul (West) – The Texas teen was the most economical bowler of the entire tournament, regularly keeping things tight with her right-arm, new-ball medium pace and finished with an economy rate of 3.19 in 26 overs while taking three wickets at an average of 27.67. With the bat, she looked like a technically pure left-hander but was unable to make a big score, ending up producing 23 runs in three innings at an average of 11.50 and a best of 12.