After a gruelling 56 games of the league stages of men’s Indian Premier League (IPL), the action moved to the Women’s T20 Challenge. It was the Supernovas who faced off against Velocity in the tournament opener.
Velocity captain Mithali Raj won the toss and opted to field first. Harmanpreet Kaur’s Supernova side posted a par score of 126/8 in 20 overs in the sluggish surface on offer at Sharjah.
The effect of the tired surface was seen in the batting of the Supernovas who could not get going right from the outset.
Sri Lankan batting star Chamari Athapaththu top-scored for Supernovas with her 39-ball 44. She struck two fours and an equal number of maximums during the knock.
The Lankan star was well supported by the skipper at the other end, who scored a fluent 31 off 27 balls. Spinner Ekta Bisht was the pick of the bowlers for Velocity, as she picked three wickets and conceded only 22 runs in her four overs.
Jahanara Alam (2/27) and Leigh Kasperek (2/23) also chipped in with a couple of wickets, adding to Supernova’s miseries.
Chasing 129, the Velocity went off to a disastrous start with the early wicket of Danielle Wyatt, who failed to open her account.
After a quickfire 17, Shafali Varma soon perished, being the second victim to Ayabonga Khaka (2/27) with the new ball.
Velocity were then reduced to 38-3, as captain Mithali (7 off 19) walked back to the dugout. Soon, Velocity had their backs to the walls with the score reading at 65/3 in the 13th over.
However, the game-changing partnership came from Sushma Varma and Sune Luus, who counter-attacked the Supernova bowlers.
‘Player of the Match’, Luus remained unbeaten on 37, which came off 21 deliveries, to take her side across the finishing line. Varma gave ample support at the other end with her 33-ball 34.
In the end, Velocity clinched the game by a margin of five-wickets in the low-scoring thriller, setting up the tournament beautifully.
Brief Scores:
Velocity – 129/5 in 19.5 overs (Luus 37*, Khaka 2/27) beat Supernovas – 128/8 in 20 overs (Athapaththu 44, Bisht 3/22) by 5-wickets.
0 Comments