The 3rd edition of the Women’s Uttarakhand Premier League 2026, scheduled from 21st to 24th September, kicked off with Jyoti Giri-led Pithoragarh Hurricanes up against Dehradun Warriors, led by skipper Sweta Verma, in the tournament opener on 21st September 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Dehradun.
The Dehradun Warriors skipper, Sweta Verma, won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Warriors bowlers responded brilliantly by restricting the Pithoragarh Hurricanes to just 84/7 in their quota of 20 overs. The 21-run stand for the 7th wicket between Divya Bohra (7 off 18 balls) and Gaytri Arya (26* off 23 balls) was the highest partnership of the innings.
She was also the top run-scorer for the Pithoragarh Hurricanes, while Ankita Shah (21 off 24 balls) and the wicket-keeper batter Bhoomi Umar (10 off 17 balls) played their part with the bat and were the only other batters to enter the double digits with the bat for their side. The innings had as many as 7 extras.
Minakshi Joshi (4-1-11-3), Vaishali Tulera (4-0-16-2), Yashi (4-0-17-1) and Amisha Bahukhandi (4-0-16-0) were the top performers with the ball for Dehradun Warriors.
Chasing a target of 85, the Dehradun Warriors got over the line with 7 wickets in hand and 35 balls to spare, to register a statement win to kickstart their campaign in the 3rd edition of the tournament. A 43-run 2nd wicket stand between Neelam Naresh Bhardwaj (29* off 25 balls) and the opening batter Kareena Singh (26 off 37 balls) not only led the recovery after losing their skipper Sweta Verma in the 4th over of the run chase, but also eventually proved to be decisive for their side.
Impact player Preeti Bhandari (12 off 10 balls) chipped in with a handy cameo with the bat. The innings had 7 extras. Ankita Singh (4-0-15-1), Karuna Shety (2.1-0-19-1), Ananya Mehra (2-0-15-1) and Divya Bohra (2-0-8-0) were impressive with the ball for the Hurricanes.
Minakshi Joshi was awarded Player of the Match for her decisive spell (4-1-11-3), accounting for the scalps of Ananya Mehra (1 off 4 balls), Shagun Choudhary (8 off 12 balls) and the opposition skipper Jyoti Giri (2 off 11 balls) with the ball, dismantling the Pithoragarh Hurricanes top order.
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Source: femalecricket.com
