Twitter Reactions: Sune Luus, Sushma Verma, bowlers script victory for Velocity in opener

Velocity found themselves in all sorts of strife in their run-chase against the Supernovas, the defending champions. However, in the end, Mithali Raj and Co eased past their opponent, winning by five wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. A required-rate, which started at around 6.25, went up to nearly 10, but the Velocity batters didn’t allow pressure to get to them and won with a ball to spare.

Athapaththu plays an impressive hand

After being put in to bat first, Priya Punia (11) and Chamari Athapaththu (44) made sure that the Supernovas got off to a steady start. The duo put on 30 runs at just under a run-a-ball before Leigh Kasperek accounted for Punia’s wicket. Jemimah Rodrigues’ dismissal to Ekta Bisht for seven was a crucial one since the youngster was the top run-scorer in the previous edition of the tournament.

After the quick strikes, Athapaththu and Harmanpreet Kaur (31) steadied the ship with a partnership of 47. At that point time in time Supernovas looked good for a score over 140. Jahanara Alam then came to the party and removed both the batters. From there on, the Supernovas huffed and puffed to 126 for eight. Shashikala Siriwardene chipped in with a 21-ball 18. Bisht picked up three wickets.

Luus, Verma held nerve

Velocity got off to the worst possible start after Ayobanga Khaka removed the dangerous Danielle Wyatt, who edged a cut to Taniya Bhatia. Shafali Verma smashed 17 off 11 with four fours, but she gave her wicket away to Khaka. For a brief while, the Velocity strained to find momentum. Mithali Raj had a forgettable day as he got a 19-ball seven before Siriwardene ended her dreadful stay.

Veda Krishnamurthy looked good for his 29 and she became Poonam Yadav’s first victim. In the last seven overs, the Velocity needed 62 runs at a required rate of almost nine. But then Sushma Verma (34) and Sune Luus put on 51 for the fifth wicket to keep their team in the hunt. After the former got out, Luus notched 37 off 21 balls with four fours and a six, taking her team over the finishing line.

Here’s how the netizens reacted on the Velocity’s victory:

https://twitter.com/suhaas_vedham/status/1324038525260427265?s=20