Cricket: Quick fifties from Verma and Wolvaardt give Velocity comfortable opening win

[banglabhai420]

Velocity 151 for 3 (Verma 51, Wolvaardt 51*, Dottin 2-21) beat Supernovas 150 for 5 (Kaur 71, Taniya 36, Cross 2-24) by seven wickets

In the contest between arguably India's two best power-hitters, Harmanpreet Kaur's 51-ball 71 won the individual battle, but Shafali Verma, with 51 off 33 balls, finished on the right side of the result as Velocity beat Supernovas by seven wickets in the Women's T20 Challenge in Pune on Tuesday.

A win would have secured a final berth for Supernovas after their opening-day win over Trailblazers but, fortunately for them, they still sit atop of the points table because of a good net run-rate.

Chasing 151 for victory, Verma's boundary-laden half-century and Laura Wolvaardt's unbeaten 51 in 35 balls took Velocity to the target in 18.2 overs, without much of a hiccup. This was also the highest successful run chase in the history of the tournament.

Supernovas were playing a match a little over half a day after beating Trailblazers. They lost three wickets inside four overs after being asked to bat, and scored just 60 runs in the first ten overs. But Harmanpreet's 71 and her 82-run stand with Taniya Bhatia for the fourth wicket lifted Supernovas to 150 for 5; it might have been enough on another day, but not this one.

Eighteen for three after 23 balls
It took Velocity only three balls to strike, as Kate Cross removed Priya Punia in the first over of the innings. Punia, who began her innings with a four off the first delivery, was caught in the covers by Ayabonga Khaka when she played an uppish drive. A three-run over from captain Deepti Sharma followed, and Cross struck again in her second over when she removed the in-form Harleen Deol.

Deol couldn't build on her 19-ball 35 from the opener against Trailblazers as she fell to Cross' outswing, looking to play a flick but only sending a leading edge to backward point for Wolvaardt to grab.

The big wicket came in the fourth over when Deepti removed the dangerous Deandra Dottin. Dottin, who made 32 off 17 on Monday, came down the track for a slog-sweep but the mistimed shot ended up as a top-edge to wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia.

In 17 minutes, Supernovas' top three - who contributed 89 runs in the first match - were back in the dugout.

The rescue act
Taniya was promoted to No. 4 after batting at No. 9 in the first game. Her job was simple: stay long and steady the innings. She did exactly that. Alongside Harmanpreet, who came in at No. 5, she put on 82 runs off 63 balls for the fourth wicket - the highest stand ever in the Women's T20 Challenge - after the early jitters.

Both the batters preferred the assortment of sweeps, with Velocity's spinners operating from both ends. The first 50 runs of the partnership came at a run a ball, but Harmanpreet upped the rate with a four and a six in debutant wristspinner Maya Sonawane's second over, the 13th of the innings.

Just when the two looked set for a big score, though, the partnership came to an end when Taniya was run out at the non-striker's end attempting a non-existent run courtesy Yastika's quick throw to Khaka, the bowler. Taniya fell for a 32-ball 36, which included three fours.

Harmanpreet, who had scored 37 runs off her first 30 balls and got to ger half-century off 41 balls, finished with 71 off 51 to propel Supernovas to a respectable total. After Taniya's departure, she went hard, scoring two boundaries and a six in the 18th over off Sneh Rana, after the bowler had conceded just ten runs in her first three overs.

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