Women’s T20 Challenge 2022: Shafali 51, Wolvaardt 51* win it for Velocity; Harman's 71 goes in vain

Women’s T20 Challenge 2022, Supernovas vs Velocity, Top Performances: Shafali Verma's 51, Laura Wolvaardt's 51* and Harmanpreet Kaur's 71 are top three performances.

Shafali Verma scored 33-ball-51 against Supernovas (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Brief Scores: Velocity 151-3 (Wolvaardt 51*, Shafali 51, Dottin 21/2) beat Supernovas 150-5 (Harmanpreet 71, Bhatia 36, Kate Cross 24/2) by 7 wickets

Player of the Match: Harmanpreet Kaur for 71(51) & 2 catches

Deepti Sharma-led Velocity clashed heads with Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on May 24 in Women’s T20 Challenge 2022.

These teams have faced each other thrice in this tournament and Supernovas have won two times, whereas Velocity managed to defeat the former once. Supernovas came into this game after defeating Trailblazers by 49 runs on Monday.

Velocity captain Deepti Sharma won the toss and opted to field first.

Velocity defeat Supernovas by 7 wickets

Supernovas lost three early wickets in the first four overs of their innings, however, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and wicketkeeper batter Taniya Bhatia bailed out their side by adding 82 runs. A phenomenal knock of 71 runs by Harmanpreet and a brisk late strike by Sune Luus powered Supernovas to 150/5 in 20 overs.

While chasing the target of 151 runs, Velocity opener Shafali Verma smashed a swashbuckling half-century in the powerplay overs. Protea batter Laura Wolvaardt played a marvellous finishing knock to help her side win the match by seven wickets.

Here are the top three performances from the game between Supernovas and Velocity.

Harmanpreet gets player of the match for her 71 runs & 2 catches against Velocity (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Harmanpreet Kaur lights up MCA stadium

Supernovas were high on confidence after a huge win over Trailblazers on Monday, however, England pacer Kate Cross gave two blows to Supernovas early in the innings by dismissing Priya Punia and Harleen Deol. Also, they lost their destructive batter Deandra Dottin in just the fourth over of the innings. Dottin went for a big stroke but ended up forcing a top edge which caught by wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia.

Supernovas skipper Harmanpreet Kaur came to bat when her side was struggling on 18 for three. She flicked a boundary off seamer Cross towards wide mid-on. She pummelled another boundary to deep square leg off the same bowler. Her partner wicketkeeper batter Taniya Bhatia also changed gears and clobbered two back-to-back boundaries off Protea pacer Ayabonga Khaka. In the same over, Harmanpreet smashed a boundary to make it a big over for her side.

The batting duo brought up a 82-run partnership in 63 deliveries. Harmanpreet took an attacking route in the 14th over to smash a huge six and a boundary against leg-spinner Maya Sonawane. After Taniya got run out, Harmanpreet completed her fifty in just 42 balls. In the death overs, Harmanpreet struck a six and two fours off right-arm off-spinner Sneh Rana.

She launched another huge six off Radha Yadav in the 19th over. However, in the same over, Radha shattered the stumps of Harmanpreet. The batter made 71 runs off just 51 balls with the help of seven fours and three gigantic sixes. Due to the magnificent knock by Harmanpreet, Supernovas managed to reach 150 runs in 20 overs after losing five wickets.

Read More: Women’s T20 Challenge 2022: Dottin’s 32, Vastrakar’s 4-12 helps Supernovas win against Trailblazers

Shafali Verma raise her bat after scoring half century against Supernovas (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Shafali Verma's whirlwind knock blew away opponent bowlers

While chasing 151 runs, India player Shafali Verma and Thailand batter Natthakan Chantham opened the batting for Velocity. Shafali is known for her destructive batting in powerplay overs to destroy the morale of opponents. She proved her reputation true again by showering boundaries in all parts of the ground.

She cracked a straight boundary by coming down the wicket on the second ball of the innings off England spinner Sophie Ecclestone. Even if she lost her partner Chantham in the second over of the innings, Verma pummelled a boundary in the same over off India pacer Pooja Vastrakar.

In the next over, Verma struck two back-to-back boundaries off India medium-pacer Meghna Singh to put pressure on the bowler. The 18-year-old batter repeated the same feat in the next over bowled by Vastrakar to bestow a flying start for her side.

She didn’t hold back against any opponent bowler. The Rohtak-born attacking batter smashed back-to-back boundaries against Ecclestone in the fifth over. She clobbered an elephantine six and a four against right-arm off-spinner Venkateshappa Chandu to reach the forties. Shafali completed her half-century in just 30 deliveries. However, after completing her fifty, Shafali got out while smashing a shot to third man, however, Harmanpreet grabbed a stunning catch to send the batter back to the hut.

Laura Wolvaardt playing cut during her unbeaten 51-run innings (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Laura Wolvaardt secures win for Velocity with an astonishing half-century

Protea batter Laura Wolvaardt came into bat after a flying start given by batter Shafali Verma in powerplay overs. Wolvaardt kicked off her innings with a boundary off Australia leggie Alana King. As Velocity lost the wicket of Shafali, they were in an uneasy state of 80 for three. The onus of rescuing velocity fell on Wolvaardt and Deepti Sharma.

Deepti eased the pressure by striking two boundaries in an over bowled by Vastrakar. Wolvaardt batted cautiously at the start, though she started to play attacking strokes after settling down in the middle. The 23-year-old batter struck two back-to-back fours against off-spinner Harmanpreet. Again, she cracked two boundaries against spinner Chandu. She reached near her fifty by striking a boundary off Ecclestone. When the win was already in sight for Velocity, Wolvaardt launched a huge six off right-arm pacer Dottin and completed her fifty in just 35 deliveries.

Velocity got past the target of 151 runs due to a fourth-wicket stand of 71 runs between Wolvaardt and Deepti.

What’s to Come

Velocity will lock horns with Trailblazers at MCA Stadium in Pune on May 25.

Read More: Women’s T20 Challenge 2022: Dottin’s 32, Vastrakar’s 4-12 helps Supernovas win against Trailblazers