Two former champions from previous seasons of the Kerala Women’s T20 Challengers Trophy 2025 Team Emerald and Team Sapphire will be locking horns in match no.3 of this season. The match is scheduled for May 6, 2025, at the St. Xavier’s College Ground in Thumba at 8:45 AM Indian Standard Time (IST).
Notably, both teams have had a strong run in the previous few seasons with KCA Sapphire winning the tournament twice in 2021 and 2023 respectively and KCA Emerald crowned champions in 2022. It will be a fierce competition between two former champions of the tournament. Both these teams would be eager to continue their dominant run in this season as well going forward. Even though KCA Sapphire had a terrible season last year with three no result games, KCA Emerald managed to stay in the top two positions.
Squads:
KCA Emerald
Ameera Beegum, Malavika Sabu, Neha Sivi, Reyna Rose, Sayoojya Salilan, Aleena Surendran, Ishitha Shani, Najla Noushad, Nithya Loordh, Niyati R Mahesh, Renjusha A, Reshmi C, Vyshna MP, Aleena M P, Anushka C V, Niranjana S Nair, Nivedya Mol, Sandra Suren, Vishnu Priya P
KCA Sapphire
Aleena Shibu, Gopika Gayathri Devi, Souparnika B, Abhirami P Binu, Aiswarya A K, Akshaya S, Akshaya Sadanandan, Shreya Roy, Tesiya P, Ananya Pradeep, Ivana Shani, Lekshmi Sumesh, Anaswara Santosh, Anusree Anil Kumar, Manasvi Potti, Pavithra R Nair, Prithika Prayaga, Swafiya, Yadhupriya
Players to watch out:
Vyshna MP
This 22-year-old wicket-keeper batter was impressive with the bat against KCA Amber. She took the game deep and played a mature knock to set the stage for the other to come and score big runs. An innings like this will definitely set the tone for Vyshna for the rest of the tournament.
Najla Noushad
Captain of KCA Emerald Najla Noushad has been prolific with her batting skills and some handy wrist spin. The 21-year-old player was also a part of the Women’s U-19 team and plays some fearsome cricket when it comes to batting. Noushad was striking at 170 with four fours and five sixes against KCA Amber in their season opener.
Aiswarya A K
The 21-year-old all-rounder with left-arm orthodox has been impressive in picking wickets and providing breakthroughs at regular intervals for the KCA Sapphire. With a few trades here and there, Aiswarya will be key in leading the spin attack for KCA Sapphire this season.
Pavithra Nair
Pavithra Nair is known to be a fearsome striker of the cricket ball also displaying some decent record with the ball as well. Pavithra stood out as the player with the highest strike rate in the 2024 season of the tournament striking at almost 225 with the bat.
Pitch:
At St. Xavier’s College Ground, the boundary lengths vary depending on the direction, with straight boundaries often being longer compared to those on the square. The avg score in the last 10 games at Thumba is 97 runs whereas avg wickets taken here is 7.
Weather:
Expect cloudy weather during the match hours with the temperature hovering around 28°C. Gradually as the match continues temperatures might rise up with expected 20 per cent showers at noon time. Average humidity would be around 83%.
Fantasy Playing XI:
Nithya Loordh, Najla Noushad, Malavika Sabu, Aleena Surendran, Vyshna M P, Niyati R Mahesh, Aiswarya A K, Anusree Anil Kumar, Pavithra R Nair, Aleena Shibu, Aleena M P
Match Details:
Date – May 6, 2025
Time – 8:45 AM IST
Venue – St. Xavier’s College Ground, Thumba
Broadcast – The game will be live-streamed on the FanCode app and website.
