Supernovas vs Velocity: Maya Sonawane's unorthodox bowling action grabs limelight

Maya Sonawane, a 23-year-old cricketer from Maharashtra, grabbed the spotlight during the second match of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 between the Velocity and Supernovas. Sonawane made her debut in the tournament and was a part of Velocity’s bowling line-up. Her unorthodox bowling action left everyone stunned, and it resembled former South African Test player Paul Adams’.

It is interesting to watch the youngster throw the delivery within the line and length. Sonawane swings the ball while bending completely towards the ground with her head remaining a few centimeters away from the crease. Adams, a former Proteas left-arm spinner, had a similar bowling action.

Mike Gatting had once described his action as similar to that of a “frog in a blender”. Though Adam’s movement surprised world batters at first, the Australians quickly exposed him for his lack of variety. As a result, he became ineffective.

Velocity aim to bag their maiden championship title

Speaking of the tournament, the Women’s T20 Challenge is being played after a gap of one year. It was last played in 2020 in the UAE owing to the Covid-19 situations pertaining in India and was canceled last year as India’s international tours clashed with the dates.

The Velocity locked horns with the Supernovas in the second match of the tournament. Winning the toss, Deepti Sharma, the skipper of Velocity, opted to chase in the game. Kate Cross gave a kick start to the game as she nailed her deliveries to perfection, thereby grabbing two quick wickets. She scalped Priya Puniya and Harleen Deol from the top order to give her side the important breakthrough.

The bowlers kept the Supernovas batters in check and restricted them from scoring many runs. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and wicketkeeper batter Taniya Bhatia stitched a brilliant partnership by adding 81 runs for the fourth wicket. When the Supernovas were struggling at 18/3, the duo paired up and played a wonderful knock to take their team’s scoreboard to a defendable total. In return, a great batting show from Shafali Varma and Laura Wolvaardt pushed Velocity over the line by seven wickets.