Women's T20 Challenge 2022: Fighting 71 by captain Harmanpreet Kaur guides Supernovas to competitive 150/5 against Velocity

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], May 24 (ANI): A fighting half-century by captain Harmanpreet Kaur (71) and her 82-run stand with wicketkeeper-batter Taniya Bhatia (36) helped Supernovas reach 150/5 in their 20 overs against Velocity here at MCA Stadium in Pune.
It was a solid outing for Supernovas with the bat with great contributions from Kaur, Bhatiya and Sune Luus (20*). On the other hand, despite a great start with ball, Velocity could not hold their grip on match for long as the Supernovas skipper took them to the cleaners.
Put to bat first by the Velocity, Supernovas were off an extremely poor start as pacer Kate Cross sent Priya Punia back to the pavilion for 4 after she was caught by Ayabonga Khaka at the covers in the third ball of the first over. In the third over as well, Cross dismissed Harleen Deol for 7 off 9 after she was caught by Laura Wolvaardt at the backward point.
In the next over, all-rounder Deepti Sharma got the big wicket of Deandra Dottin for 6 off 9, sinking the Supernovas to 18/3.
From then on, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Taniya Bhatia started the rescue act for the Supernovas. Both batters took on Velocity bowlers well.
At the end of powerplay in six overs, Supernovas stood at a sub-par 29/3, with Harmanpreet Kaur (7*) and Taniya Bhatia (5*).
After the end of the powerplay, both the batters started attacking the Velocity bowlers, with pacer Ayabonga Khaka's eighth over giving away 15 runs. At the end of 10 overs, Supernovas stood at 60/3, with Taniya Bhatia (20*) and Harmanpreet Kaur (21*).
In the 12th over, the duo brought up the 50-run stand, with Taniya Bhatia (25*) and Harmanpreet Kaur (24*).
In the 13th over of the innings, Kaur smashed spinner Maya Sonawane for a four and a six, with the bowler giving away 14 runs. This over turned out to be pretty expensive for Velocity and eased off a lot of pressure for Supernovas batters. The 14th over bowled by Deepti Sharma also gave away 11 runs.
In the 15th over of the game, Velocity finally got a breakthrough as Bhatia was run out for 36 off 32, ending her 82-run stand with Kaur.
This brought all-rounder Sune Luus to the crease, who had the responsibility to put finishing touches to Supernovas innings and post a fighting total on the board.
In 15 overs, Supernovas stood at 103/4, with Harmanpreet Kaur (46*) and Sune Luus (1*).
In the 17th over of the innings, Kaur brought her half-century. She survived an LBW appeal off a delivery by spinner Sneh Rana and took full advantage of it by smashing Rana for 4,6,4 in the final three balls of the over. The over gave away 15 runs and proved to give a boost to Supernovas innings.
In the final ball of the 19th over, Kaur was finally dismissed by spinner Radha Yadav for a quickfire 71 off 51 after her leg stump was dislodged while attempting to flick.
Supernovas finished off their innings at a competitive 150/5 in their 20 overs, with Sune Luus (20*) and Pooja Vastrakar (2*) at the crease.
Kate Cross was the pick of the bowlers for Velocity with 2/24. Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav got a wicket each too.
Brief Scores: Supernovas 150/5 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 71, Taniya Bhatia 36, Kate Cross 2/24) against Velocity. (ANI)