The defending champion Trailblazers managed a 16-run win over Velocity in the league game, but that was not enough to help them qualify for the final of the Women’s T20 Challenge. The final will be played between Supernova and Velocity on Saturday.
Jemima Rodrigues was named player of the match after the Trailblazers defeated Velocity (AFP photo)
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- Velocity ends with 174/9 to reach final of Women’s T20 Challenge
- Trailblazers won by 16 runs but failed to make the final
- The final will be played between Supernova and Velocity on Saturday
Velocity qualified for the final of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 despite suffering 16 losses at the hands of defending champion Trailblazers at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Thursday.
In the virtual knockout competition, Velocity qualified for the finals after crossing the trailblazers’ NRR quotient to 158 while chasing a mammoth target of 191 runs – the highest in the history of the tournament.
Sent in to bat, the Trailblazers posted a challenging score of 190 for five in their Women’s T20 Challenge match against Velocity. Sabbhineni Meghna scored 73 runs in 47 balls, while Jemima Rodrigues scored 66 runs in 44 balls. Simran Bahadur took two wickets for 31 runs in three overs for Velocity.
Meghna delivers two good hits off Kate Cross but the bowler takes a simple catch from Simran to dismiss Mandhana. Cross could have added Meghna’s wicket to his list but Sneh Rana drops it on point. Rodrigues hit two fours off Deepti Sharma and the Trailblazers scored 47 for one in the powerplay.
Meghna split the attack, sending Radha Yadav for two sixes – one shot from inside out over cover and the other over the bowler’s head – on her way to her half-century in the 10th over. Rodrigues also played some excellent shots and completed his half-century in 30 balls in the 14th over.
Shafali Verma and Ayabonga Khaka bowled two good overs but Meghna breaks the chains, launching Verma at long off for her third six. Meghna got another relief when Khaka dropped her to backward point and she smacked Rana for a six and a boundary, before Cross could catch one at long-off to finally get rid of the opener.
Rodrigues and Mathews added another 31 runs in 15 balls before Khaka was dismissed. Mathews and Dunkley shared 32 of 16 to bring them close to 200.