Veteran Mithali Raj's run-a-ball 51 wasn't enough as India Blue lost to India Red by seven runs in a rain-affected in the opening encounter of the Women's T20 Challenger yesterday. India Blue scored a modest 100 for 8 in 20 overs and the Red team were 79 for 3 in 16.3 overs when play was stopped due to inclement weather. However Reds were declared winner as per VJD rule.

Batting first, Blue team had a batting collapse despite Mithali holding fort at one end with wickets falling like ninepins at the other end. The Indian ODI captain hit seven boundaries and a six. The next highest score was 12 by VR Vanitha (12). India international Deepti Sharma took 2 for 15 in four overs and then opened the batting to score 45 off 44 balls with six boundaries.