Dehradun, Sep 22 (IANS) Bageshwar Aerial and Mussoorie Queens registered contrasting victories in the women’s competition at the Uttarakhand Premier League (UPL) 2026, with both sides successfully chasing targets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun on Tuesday.
Bageshwar Aerial began the day with a three-wicket win over Pithoragarh Hurricanes after chasing down 136 with five balls to spare.
After opting to field, Bageshwar Aerial restricted Pithoragarh Hurricanes to 135/5 in their allotted 20 overs. Gayatri Arya top-scored with 41 off 35 balls as the Hurricanes struggled to build enough momentum for a challenging total.
The chase proved to be a closely fought affair, but Bageshwar Aerial held their nerve to finish on 136/7 in 19.1 overs. Nandini Kaushik played a key role in the successful pursuit, contributing 41 off 35 balls. Mussoorie Queens, meanwhile, produced a more commanding performance in the second game, defeating Dehradun Warriors by eight wickets.
Dehradun Warriors chose to bat first but were bowled out for 123 in 19 overs. Preeti Bhandari offered the strongest resistance with a 38-ball 59, but Mussoorie Queens’ bowlers kept the scoring in check throughout the innings. Nisha Mishra was the chief architect of the bowling effort, claiming four wickets to earn the Player of the Match award.
The Queens then completed the chase with 10 balls to spare, reaching 125/2 in 18.3 overs. Captain Nandini Kashyap anchored the innings with an unbeaten 62 off 64 balls to steer her side comfortably over the line.
Kashyap said the team’s preparation and planning against individual opponents had played an important role in their performances.
“We are doing a lot of preparation. As I said earlier, we are planning against every team. We are studying the batters and bowlers and making our plans accordingly, and so far, those plans have worked really well. We will take the same approach into our next two matches, including the final. All the girls are following the plans and executing them really well, which is helping us as a team.”
The Mussoorie captain also felt the surface offered better batting conditions than in their previous outing, although it became slightly slower by the time her side began its chase.
“Today, the pitch was much better compared to the previous match. However, because our batting came in the fourth innings, it was a little low at that stage. Still, it was much better than the previous match and was a good scoring wicket. I think the opposition was about 20-30 runs short of what could have been a competitive total. Our bowlers did really well to restrict them, and that made the chase quite easy for us.”
The two results added further momentum to the women’s competition as the teams continue their push towards the next stage of the third UPL season.
–IANS
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