The T20 Challenge final saw an intense game of cricket between two strong teams, which went down to the wire, as the game was decided off the last ball.
Velocity gave Supernovas a stern fight, but the effort wasn’t enough in the end. The two-time champions were able to win the battle of the nerves and their third title in four iterations of the competition. Deandra Dottin’s brilliant all-round performance sealed the deal for Supernovas, who eventually defeated Velocity by a slim margin of four runs.
Deepti Sharma won the toss and decided that her side would be better off chasing in the high-pressure game. Her decision backfired quite badly, as Supernovas got off to a rollicking start. Dottin took the attack to the Velocity bowlers immediately.
Priya Punia, who was not in the best of form, was able to take her time with Dottin wreaking havoc on the Velocity attack, but it was only after her dismissal that the Supernovas innings really took off.
Harmanpreet Kaur joined Dottin in the middle, and the two tore apart the Velocity bowling, adding close to 60 runs in just five overs. However, a collapse was in store for the Supernovas. They were unable to capitalise on the wonderful start instead of huffing and puffing through to 165.
Velocity would have been really pleased with the target of 166, especially considering the kind of start that the Supernovas got. Things did begin well for their side. Openers Yastika Bhatia and Shafali Verma cracked six boundaries in the first two overs. But the Supernovas were quick to respond.
Dottin and Sophie Ecclestone picked up three quick wickets to get their side right back into the game, including that of Kiran Navgire, who had a shocker as she was dismissed for a 13-ball duck.
The Velocity capitulation began right there and continued till 117/8 when Laura Wolvaardt finally got an unlikely yet reliable partner in Simran Bahadur. The two added 33 runs in quick time, leaving 16 to get from the last over.
Wolvaardt smashed a six off the first ball as Velocity inched closer to their first-ever title, but were in for a huge disappointment, with Ecclestone managing to bowl a fantastic five balls after that to seal a four-run victory and the Supernovas’ third title.
Brief scores
Supernovas 165 for 7 (Dottin 62, Harmanpreet 43, Deepti 2-20) beat Velocity 161 for 8 (Wolvaardt 65*, Bahadur 20*, King 3-32) by four runs
