Supernovas beat Velocity by 12 runs

Jaipur, May 9 (IANS) Despite valiant knocks by Danielle Wyatt (43 off 33) and skipper Mithali Raj (40 unbeaten off 42), Velocity failed to cross the line by 12 runs against the Supernovas in the third and final contest of the Womens T20 Challenge 2019 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Thursday.

Chasing a challenging 143-run target, Velocity got off to a bad start after losing their first wicket with just seven runs on board as Radha Yadav dismissed opener Shafali Verma (2 off 4) cheaply.

Velocity's other opener Hayley Matthews (11 off 12) also departed soon, leaving her side in deep trouble as Velocity's scorecard read 21/2 in 3.3 overs, thanks to Anuja Patil who claimed the wicket of the opener.

Wyatt and Mithali then shared a 56-run partnership to repair the early damages but Poonam Yadav soon broke the developing partnership as she packed back the former in the 12th over with Velocity still 66 runs away from victory.

Experienced Mithali was then joined by Veda Krishnamurthy (30 unbeaten off 29) and the duo stabilised the innings, helping Velocity touch the three-digit mark in 16 overs.

They both played sensibly, denying their opponents any further onslaughts however, some disciplined bowling by helped Supernovas pip Velocity by just 12 runs.

For Supernovas, Radha, Anuja and Poonam picked a wicket each.

Earlier, Jemimah Rodrigues' magnificent unbeaten 77-run knock rocketed Supernovas to 142/3.

Asked to bat first, Supernovas' opener Priya Punia (16 off 16) and Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 38) started on a cautious note with the scorecard read 13 for no loss in the first three overs. Shikha Pandey came up with the first breakthrough for Velocity as she dismissed Priya in the fifth over, leaving Supernovas at 29/1.

Athapaththu and new batswoman Rodrigues then repaired the early damage, helping their side cross the 50-run mark in 8.1 overs. Amelia Kerr finally broke the well-settled partnership as she sent back Athapaththu in the 13th over when Supernovas were at 84 runs.

Rodrigues was then joined by Sophie Devine (9 off 14) and they both added a crucial 50 runs for the third wicket even as the majority of the runs were scored by the former as she clobbered most of the bowlers for some clean hits. Kerr dispatched Devine in the 19th over after which Supernovas added 10 runs to post a challenging total.

For Velocity, Kerr scalped two wickets conceding 21 runs while Pandey managed to bag one for 17 runs.

Brief scores: Supernovas 142/3 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 77 not out, Chamari Athapaththu 31; Amelia Kerr 2/21) beat Velocity 130/3 in 20 overs (Danielle Wyatt 43, Mithali Raj 40 not out; Poonam Yadav 1/13) by 12 runs