Harmanpreet Kaur showed her class yet again as she slammed 51 in just 37 balls to help Supernovas to a thrilling four-wicket win over Velocity and see her side lift the first-ever Women’s T20 Challenge Trophy.
The Supernovas Captain who was also named Player of the Match said that her sole motive was to take the game till the end.
“I knew that if played till the end I would have won the game. That is the chat I had with Lea (Tahuhu) as well to tell her to give me as much strike as possible,” said Harmanpreet after the game.
“I was happy to hit the ball in the open areas and am glad I was able to.”
Chasing Velocity’s 121/6, Supernovas found themselves in a spot of bother at 64/5 but Harmanpreet steadied the chase and then upped the ante. She was dismissed in the final over with her side still needing 7 off 4 but Radha Yadav stepped up and did the job for her side.
“When I got out a lot of thought was coming into my mind. But I was happy with the approach that Radha showed, and she is the superstar today. All credit goes to her, I did half the job and she finished it,” said Harmanpreet.
“Only five overs were left when we needed 40-45 runs and I wanted to keep the strike. In between, Priya and Jemimah played really well. The partnership between Lea and me was also very good with her giving me a lot of confidence. A big thank you to the BCCI and to the crowd as well for their support; looking forward to it next year as well.”
Mithali Raj lamented the loss her side faced but was proud of the way Velocity fought despite losing wickets aplenty.
“After the top-order crumbled, the partnership between Amelia (Kerr) and Sushma (Verma) was very important. They got us to a very respectable total. I seriously thought it could be one-sided at one point, because they had a really strong team,” said Mithali.
“At the same time I knew my team will fight for every run and they won because of a brilliant knock from Harman.”
Velocity, batting first found themselves at 37/5 at one stage but Sushma Verma (40*) and Amelia Kerr (36) stitched a crucial 71-run stand for the sixth wicket take the team to a respectable score.
“Overall the girls have done really well from the first game and I am really proud of the way they came back tonight,” Mithali said. “This is what you get to see in international standard (talking about domestic cricketers getting the exposure to play in front of big crowds under pressure). If we have regular matches like these the girls will gain more exposure. Today we had Shafali Varma… Devika played her first game.
“We did have inexperience in our bowling attack, but they stuck to their plans. We came as underdogs and the way we played against Trailblazers and today was a far better performance from yesterday. Harman is a very important player for India and she’s someone India will bank on when they play the T20 World Cup.”
Jemimah Rodrigues was named Player of the series after she finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament. In all, she managed 123 runs in three outings and was a key reason behind Supernovas clinching the title.
“I think firstly we played really well. This is cricket, one over can change the game. Harry di played a superb innings in the finals and credit goes to our team for the way we played today,” Rodrigues said.
“Honestly speaking, there were nerves, but when Harry di started in her flow, we were confident. We were nervous, but Tahuhu running those two runs also was match changing, and then Radha played superbly too.
“As a cricketer, I needed to be a lot more consistent at the international level. Even (WV) Raman sir’s advice, the small things are very important. I wouldn’t want to forget my parents either at this stage, and everyone else who’s supported me.”
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