Two-time Women’s T20 Challenge champions Supernovas will take on Velocity in what is expected to be the last final under this name. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said earlier said that the board is looking to launch the Women’s Indian Premier League in 2023, so it could be the last opportunity for Velocity to win the tournament.
While Supernovas won the trophy in the inaugural seasons (2018 and 2019), Trailblazers captured the title in 2020. The tournament was not held in 2021 on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deepti Sharma’s Velocity should consider themselves as favourites despite reaching the final as the second-placed side in the round-robin first stage. All three teams finished on the same points with one victory each from two matches, but Supernovas and Velocity finished first and second respectively with superior run rates.
Velocity’s only win has come over Supernovas and besides that their performance against Trailblazers was a reminder of the firepower they pack in their team.
Harmanpreet Kaur captain of Supernovas and Deepti Sharma captain of Velocity. Sportzpics
They lost the match chasing a record target of 191, but they got enough on the board to edge Trailblazers on NRR and gave a peek at what they would bring to the final.
Match-up: Supernovas bowlers vs Velocity power-hitters
In the round-robin match between Supernovas and Velocity, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side batted first and put up mere 150 on the board. It was chased down with 10 balls to spare as Velocity won by seven wickets. They didn’t have enough opportunity to score big but against Trailblazers, who made the highest tournament total of 190, Deepti and Co needed to fire on all cylinders and so they did, albeit falling short by just 16 runs in the end.
Still, their total of 174 is the highest second innings total in the Women’s T20 Challenge. They scored 68 in the powerplay — the highest score for the first six overs in the tournament. Kiran Navgire slammed the fastest fifty of the tournament in just 25 balls. In the game against Supernovas, Velocity’s Shafali Verma had created the same record by notching up her fifty in 30 balls.
To complement them, Velocity also have Yastika Bhatia, Laura Wolvaardt, Deepti, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav and Simran Bahadur in their team. If Velocity get to bat first in the final at the batting-friendly MCA Stadium in Pune then we can all expect a big show from their batters. Supernovas bowlers would need to contain the big-hitters to take their team to the title.
Star watch
Shafali Verma: Whether batting first or in a chase, Shafali Verma is highly critical to the success of Velocity. The swashbuckling batter is also in great form, having scored eighty runs in the last two matches at a strike rate of 174. Shafali has also improved her game a lot. She is not anymore only reliant on her cut shots or whips down the ground. She has some great covers drives and pull shots also in her armoury. If she gets going again on Saturday, Velocity will be destined for a strong total.
Harmanpreet Kaur: Priya Punia, Harleen Deol, Sune Luus and Taniya Bhatia are good batters but Supernovas will need some brute strength to match the big-hitting capabilities of Velocity batters and that makes Harmanpreet a vital asset for her side. Harmanpreet has shown over the years that she has an extra gear in her game and could be the most destructive batter on her day. She will need to find that extra gear on Saturday. Deandra Dottin is another player who could help Supernovas score quick runs.
Uncapped watch
Kiran Navgire: The Solapur cricketer who plays for Nagaland in the domestic circuit created a storm in Velocity’s game against Trailblazers. Navgire along with Shafali were the major reasons it seemed like Velocity will manage to chase down the record target of 191. Her explosive innings of 69 off 34 was laced with five fours and five sixes with shots all around the park. She will be looking to further her case for a national call-up in the final.
V Chandu, the off-spinner, is the only uncapped player who has played in the two matches so far for Supernovas. She, however, didn’t get a wicket in these matches. It will be interesting to see if Supernovas continue with the rookie or bring in another uncapped player in her place.
Quotes section
“Yes, we have the team to win the championship. Especially with the way we have played and our positive thinking. Players play their assigned roles and they are confident. The biggest thing is that we are enjoying the game. We will win if players perform their assigned roles” — Velocity captain Deepti Sharma said ahead of the final.
The final begins at 7.30 pm IST at the MCA Stadium in Pune and will be shown live on the Star Sports network and Disney + Hotstar.
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