Sushma Verma and Sune Luus star in Velocity's come-from-behind victory
Supernovas made 126 on a slow pitch and though their bowlers seemed ahead in the early part of the chase, they came undone in the end
Supernovas made 126 on a slow pitch and though their bowlers seemed ahead in the early part of the chase, they came undone in the end
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Sreshth Shah
9.35pm That's all from us. See you tomorrow afternoon for game two of the Women's T20 Challenge, after which we'll have the first qualifier of the IPL in the evening. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. On behalf of Chandan and Alagappan, this is Sreshth signing off.
9.28pm Presentation time.
Sune Luus, the player of the match. She says, "It was quite difficult that we needed 62 in 42 when I walked in. They were bowling well. Sushma rotated the strike well with me. I didn't find the surface too difficult at all. It was coming onto the bat. Couple of sixes from the girls was a testament to how good the wicket was. The pitch played the same both innings, it depends more on your style of cricket. This is such a great opportunity to be here, in these crazy times. It's extremely great to be playing again. Really enjoying it."
Mithali Raj, winning captain: "It is challenging (after long break). Most players played the T20 World Cup, but for Jhulan and me it's been long. I was expecting 120-130 in the first innings. Wish we had a decent opening start, because in low scoring games that's important. Losing Danny Wyatt was big because she's a main player, and a bit nervous too. But Veda played well, with Sushma and Sune too. Such platforms help our younger players. They can see Harmanpreet, Smriti and so on and prepare with them. Back to back games can be difficult, because we aren't getting time to recover, but that is what it is. When we wake up, we'll be preparing again."
Sushma Verma, who set the game up with Luus, says "the way we chose to bowl at the toss, I thought that maybe I'll have to be the finisher in the second innings. I'm well aware of my role in Velocity since I played last season too. My personal runs didn't matter as long as we won. Nothing new done during the lockdown, just kept my strong beliefs that I can do well. When Luus came on strike, the difference was 25 between runs and balls, so we felt if we can hit 5-6 balls for a boundary we are in. The plan was to not take the game to the last over but I got out. The bonding during quarantine in the hotel room helped us."
Harmanpreet Kaur, losing captain: "To win games you need to keep bowling well. Whatever we thought, in the last couple of overs, we didn't bowl according to plan. They batted really well, got to appreciate that. In the end they batted really well. In the end in our last four batting overs, we didn't utilize well. Even a single per ball would've been good enough but we didn't get that. Playing after a long time, it's not easy, but if you keep winning only then can you survive in this tournament. Need to come back with a positive approach. Bit of dew in the end but it's part of the conditions. Felt we simply did not bowl well in the last couple of overs."
Janak Nilendra: "Wooow Thats why we love cricket "
9.15pm Handshakes all a4round and Velocity win a nail biter. What a start to the Women's T20 Challenge of 2020. Velocity needed 62 runs with seven overs to go, but the Sushma-Luus partnership set up the game, and the South African finished it. A great game of cricket. Stay around for reactions. Also the first time Supernovas have lost to Velocity. They did the double over Velocity last year.
Lucky Flyer 0_0: "What a match. Given the crackernof the game today, I don't think there's anyone who would mind a proper tounament with these teams"
Abhijato: "Could anyone check my pulse? I don't think my heart can take any more."
Super Over anyone?
Pandey on strike. Shashikala with the ball
Ganeshkumar: "Women 'a T20 challenge has become more intresting now...its time we need a longer series from next year"
Supernovas made 126 on a slow pitch and though their bowlers seemed ahead in the early part of the chase, they came undone in the end
"I am very excited that at least we are getting some cricket" - Harmanpreet Kaur