Pune: Fantastic fifties by Shafali Verma (51 off 33) and Laura Wolvaardt (51 off 35) led Velocity to seven-wicket win over Supernovas in the second game of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, here on Tuesday. Chasing a target of 151 runs, Shafali played a solid start at the top while Wolvaardt finished off the chase with ease.
Put into bat first, Supernovas were off to a horrible start as they slipped to 18 for 3 in the opening four overs. Priya Punia fell to Kate Cross, who also accounted for Harleen Deol while Deandra Dottin too failed to get going and was the third to fall on the bowling off Deepti Sharma as Supernovas were left on shaky ground. However, Taniya Bhatia (36 off 32) and Harmanpreet Kaur (71 off 51) stuck together to score 82 off 63 and put the innings back on track. Supernovas were 29 for 3 at the end of the powerplay but the pair picked up pace and helped them reach 60 for 3 at the halfway mark. They got their 50-run partnership in the 12th over and looked set to launch from there. However, Bhatia was run out in the 15th over.
Kaur then went on to strike 4, 6 and 4 against Sneh Rana in the 18th over before falling to Radha Yadav in the next over. Sune Luus ended with 20 off 14 and helped Supernovas post 150-5 in 20 overs. In reply, Velocity opener Natthakan Chantham fell to the star from the previous match – Pooja Vastrakar – in the second over. But, Yastika Bhatia and Shafali didn’t let Supernovas make any more inroads. A 63-run stand that came in just 35 balls transferred the pressure back on the bowling side as Shafali took apart the bowlers.
In the third over, Yastika started with a boundary against Meghna Singh before Shafali too contributed with consecutive boundaries to take 15 out of the over. Vastrakar also conceded two fours in the next over as Velocity picked up pace with ease. Sophie Ecclestone was introduced into the attack in the fifth over and created an opportunity only for Dottin to grass a simple chance. Velocity were 60 for 1 at the end of the powerplay and looked set to ease to a win. However, Yastika fell in the eighth over bowled by Dottin. The West Indies allrounder also managed to remove Shafali in the 10th to bring her side back in the contest.
Between overs 6 and 10, Velocity made 22 and lost two wickets to slip to 82 for 3. But, Laura Wolvaardt and Deepti Sharma didn’t press the panic button and took Velocity over the victory line in 18.2 overs with a 71-run stand. Brief scores: Supernovas 150/5 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 71; Kate Cross 2-24) lost to Velocity 151/3 in 18.2 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 51 not out, Shafali Verma 51) by seven wickets—IANS