That wasn’t the only game the women’s sides of the Bengaluru Blasters and the Hubli Tigers would play as part of the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2022’s festivities though. The Veda Krishnamurthy-led Bengaluru Blasters saw out a 7-wicket win in the final over on Thursday (August 25) against a resilient Hubli Tigers side, led by state vice-captain Divya Gnanananda.

Despite what was a disappointing day for women’s cricket in Karnataka, thanks in large part to the heavens opening up and cutting short the second exhibition match organized as part of the ongoing tournament, Veda Krishnamurthy sat down with Sportskeeda to discuss the importance of playing matches like these.

The India international believes playing in games like these provides the cricketers with a “great platform” to showcase their skills. She had the following to say:

With the domestic season only a couple of months away, these games also give the team management an opportunity to identify the kind of players that would fit into the state team’s plans ahead of a packed schedule.

From Karnataka’s perspective though, captain Veda maintains that it is about these players making the most of the opportunities presented to them, and aligning with the state’s goals. The Senior Women’s T20 Trophy is slated to begin on October 11 and the hunt to identify the team’s core is on. Veda added:

“She was up for it and she took the opportunity” - Veda Krishnamurthy particularly impressed with K Prathyoosha

While the second exhibition game between the Bengaluru Blasters Women and Hubli Tigers Women was washed out, the first one did see a few encouraging performances from some not-so-usual suspects. Whether it was Aditi Rajesh’s stroke-filled 39-ball 47 for Hubli or Prerana Rajesh’s gritty 43 in the chase, there were positives aplenty for the batting on both sides even if one could have hoped for more runs from either side.

On being asked about the three youngsters who impressed her the most, though, Veda singled out 23-year-old K Prathyoosha, who, alongside Prerana, held the chase together after the Blasters lost an early wicket. With the right amounts of caution and aggression, the wicketkeeper-batter brought the perfect recipe for a run-chase that could just as easily have gone wrong.

For Veda though, Prathyoosha’s temperament to grab an opportunity that presented itself only at the very last moment was worth its weight in gold, and she made no secret of it:

While Aditi may have missed out on her half-century during the Hubli innings, the young all-rounder’s rescue act did not go unnoticed. The Karnataka captain was particularly impressed with how Aditi paced her innings. This came after Hubli skipper and star batter Divya struggled to get going early in the innings.

Veda also had words of praise for 20-year-old Shreyanka Patil, although her numbers in the game weren’t necessarily to write home about. In addition to contributing with the finishing touches to a chase that was mostly about Prathyoosha’s batting, Patil also crucially scalped Divya, who could have done a lot more damage had she stuck around much longer. Here’s what Veda had to say:

Just how much of a boost these youngsters (Prathyoosha aside) have given their own hopes of turning out for the Karnataka team remains to be seen. We may not have to wait too long to find out though, with the team all set to attempt to make amends for a disastrous Senior Women’s T20 trophy campaign from 2021-22 when the tournament begins in October.

However, if these two (one and a half, in typical Bengaluru style, thanks to the rain) exhibition games are anything to go by, the cricket fans from the state have much to look forward to this time around.

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