The West Conference prevailed 3-2 over East Conference in the combined 50-over and T20 format event held in Lauderhill, Florida. 

Image credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna in Lauderhill (Twitter @PeterDellaPenna)
 
In the first domestic women’s championship staged by USA Cricket, the West Conference emerged victorious, splitting the two completed 50-over matches before claiming two out of three matches in the T20 leg of the tournament for an overall 3-2 series win over the East Conference at Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida. Despite finishing on the losing side, East captain Shebani Bhaskar was named Player of the Tournament after finishing as the leading scorer at the event with 133 runs in five matches at an average of 26.60. Bhaskar also struck the most boundaries on the week with 14 and finished with a strike rate of 89.86, more than nine points clear of the next best batter.
 


The tournament began in rainy conditions with the first match halted after 25.4 overs ending in a no result after West had reached 92 for 2 behind an unbeaten 42 off 62 balls from opener Mahika Kandanala out of Dallas. Day two also saw a rain-effected match claimed by West Conference in an eight-wicket victory via DLS Method. East scored 133 for 6 in 40.3 overs before rain ended the first innings as Bhaskar top-scored with 35 off 44 balls at No. 6. Set a target of 102 in 20 overs, West cruised to the target with five balls to spare thanks to 45 off 54 balls from southern California opener Gargi Bhogle and an unbeaten 33 off 43 balls from Isani Vaghela.
 
Following up from her solid form in match two, northern California product Vaghela shined once again on day three of the tournament, helping to rescue West from a perilous position of 60 for 7 after 20.5 overs to top-score with 62 off 76 balls to lift West to a total of 187 in 47.1 overs. The 15-year-old Vaghela teamed with 17-year-old Seattle native Jivana Aras (38 off 69 balls) to add 103 runs for the eighth wicket across 21 overs. Vaghela’s only chance offered came on 50 at extra cover, but she displayed incredible poise under pressure and confidence in her running between the wickets to give West a fighting chance. Anika Kumar finally dismissed Vaghela given out caught behind as the 15-year-old medium pacer from Maryland finished with 3 for 17 on the day.
 
USA Women’s veteran Nadia Gruny however turned in the highest score of the tournament to secure a successful chase for the East, anchoring her side with 68 off 101 balls. She was finally dismissed by offspinner Akshatha Rao, who claimed 3 for 27 in 10 overs including two maidens. But Rao and the rest of the West attack could not dislodge Moksha Chaudhary, who finished with an unbeaten 47 off 83 balls. Chaudhary teamed with Gruny for a 66-run fifth wicket stand and then added another 43-run stand with Holly Charles to clinch a five-wicket win with six overs to spare.
 
The West bounced back a day later by sweeping the T20 doubleheader on Saturday August 7, chasing down a target of 80 off the penultimate ball to win by six wickets before restricting the East to under 100 once again in a 23-run victory in the second match of the day. Bhaskar top-scored for East in the first match making 20 off 23 balls though the rest of the order struggled to get out of first gear in the team total of 79 for 4. Vaghela led the West with figures of 2 for 14 in three overs. Another San Francisco Bay area rising talent, 14-year-old Anika Kolan, was named Player of the Match for anchoring the successful West chase with an unbeaten 25 off 36 balls.
 
The second-half of Saturday’s doubleheader featured an unbroken 81-run third-wicket stand between 15-year-old Chetnaa Prasad (34 not out off 39 balls) and West captain Sindhu Sriharsha (43 not out off 34 balls) in a total of 121 for 3. Kumar took 2 for 10 in four overs to stand out in a losing effort for the East, who stuttered early in reply and never threatened to overhaul the target, finishing on 98 for 6. Holly Charles top-scored with 24 off 32 in the chase while another Bay Area teenager, Suhani Thadani, took impressive figures of 3 for 14 in four overs with one maiden.
 
The East scored a consolation victory in Sunday’s final T20 match, holding on to win by five runs after Lisa Ramjit successfully defended seven runs in the final over. The 16-year-old from Maryland bowled an impressive death spell overall, claiming 4 for 17 in four overs including the wickets of Kandanala, Kolan, Sriharsha and top-scorer Laasya Mullapudi who made 33 off 46. Bhaskar produced her best knock of the tournament in the first innings total of 106 for 3 made by East, cementing her the tournament scoring total with 47 off 39 balls before she was caught on the deep midwicket boundary off the bowling of Snigdha Paul.
 
Besides Bhaskar’s awards for Best Batter and Player of the Tournament, Kumar claimed the Best Bowler award after finishing with a tournament-best six wickets despite playing in just four out of the six matches. Kumar took her wickets at an average of 9.33, nearly five runs per wicket better than the next closest bowler, and an economy rate of 3.69.