Harbour Diamonds women's team beat Siliguri Strikers by 8 wickets, start Bengal Pro T20 League with comprehensive win

Kolkata (West Bengal)[India], June 12 (ANI): Harbour Diamonds women's team on Wednesday began their campaign in Bengal Pro T20 League on a winning note after beating Siliguri Strikers in the opening match by eight wickets at the Jadavpur University campus grounds here.
The women's leg of the League began on Wednesday with Siliguri Striker and Harbour Diamonds locking horns in the opening match. It was a low-scoring match as Siliguri Strikers was only able to make 95/5 in 20 overs.
Chasing 96, Harbour Diamonds got home quite easily in the 17th over. They suffered two blows in the 6th and 16th over respectively. Sanshita Sumit Bishwas (31 in 37 balls) and Jhumia Khatun (33 in 31 balls) made sure it was an easy win for Harbour Diamonds.
Batting first, Siliguri Strikers got off to a slow start with opening batters crawling their way in the middle. It was skipper Priyanka Bala who played a knock of 23 in 13 balls and took her side to 95/5.
Chandrima Ghosal also scored 24 runs in 22 balls but due to Siliguri Strikers starting very slow in a T20 match, the side wasn't able to cross 100, a release said. Harbour Diamonds registered their first win in the opening match itself.
However, the men's team of Harbour Diamonds lost to Siliguri Strikers on Tuesday. Siliguri Strikers (men's team) were bundled out for 141 inside 20 overs but the side didn't lose hope and restricted Harbour Diamonds to 133/10 despite Badal Singh Balyan's (37 off 22 balls) flourishing knock.
Chasing 142, Harbour Diamonds suffered an early blow, as opening batter Sayan Mondal departed in the second over after scoring just 4 runs. The start worsened when the Harbour Diamonds lost the second wicket in the fourth over.
It was a slow start for Harbour Diamonds as scored just 64 runs in the first 10 overs. Two quick wickets in the 13th and 14th over made sure, all hopes of Harbour Diamonds were dented. However, Badal didn't lose hope and kept firing from one end.
In the last over Harbour Diamonds needed 17 runs in 6 balls and as soon as Badal got out trying to whack the ball, the side fell 9 runs short of the target.
The Bengal Pro T20 League is conceptualized on the lines of the IPL involving 8 franchise teams in both the men's and women's categories. (ANI)