Supernovas vs Velocity - Match 1

That is it from this game Velocity have avenged for their loss in last season's final. Defending champions, Supernovas, will look to bounce back from this loss and keep their hopes of a spot in the final alive when they will take on Trailblazers. Velocity will look to take this winning momentum with them on 5th November, Thursday. As they take on Trailblazers. That game begins at 3.30 pm IST (1400 local). Join us for that game. Till then, good bye and take care!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH, Sune Luus, says it was a difficult task, Sushma and her rotated strike and the boundaries released the pressure and it was easy to bat in the end. Mentions she felt it came on nicely onto the bat and the boundaries hit was an indication about how good the wicket was. States the wicket played good throughout the innings and a lot depends on the style of batting. Ends by saying this is a very good tournament and she enjoys being a part of it.

Velocity skipper, Mithali Raj, says it was a very close win. Mentions it is very challenging, especially for Goswami and her as they were not part of the T20 World Cup. States she was expecting a score around 120 but she wanted her openers to do well at the start. Adds losing Wyatt made the dressing room nervous but Veda, Verma and Luus played really well. Also says such platforms helps the young players and hence, it is important. Ends by saying it is difficult to prepare for back to back games and they do not have a lot of time to prepare.

Velocity's Sushma Verma is up for a chat. Sushma says that when they decided to bowl, she felt she might need to finish the game with the bat and was well-prepared for it. Adds that winning felt better than her personal scoring. Sushma says that there were limited resources so she backed her abilities. Sushma says that she told Luus that they needed just 4-5 bad balls to score and they should look to score boundaries if it was in their zone. Tells the time during the quarantine helped her understand the foreign players better.

Supernovas skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, says that they were never relieved and believes if one needs to win the game then they need to continue to bowl well. Admits they did not bowl according to the plan towards the end. Credits Velocity batters for the way they batted. Rues the fact that they failed to utilize the last 4 overs with the bat. Admits it is not easy to play after such a long time but thinks one needs to play well when out in the middle. Harmanpreet says there was dew in the last 3 overs but feels it is a part of the game and feels they did not bowl well.

Earlier in the day, after winning the toss and electing to field, Velocity did really well to keep Supernovas to a score which at that time felt below par. However, the Supernovas bowlers started brilliantly and had the Velocity side on the back foot till the 15th over. However, a clever innings from Sushma and a superb cameo from Luus has given them the two points.

Chasing a moderate target, Velocity needed wickets and they got it. Not only did they get wickets but also managed to apply brakes on the run scoring. All the 5 bowlers were upto the mark till the Luus-Verma partnership. It is that stand which changed the game. Luus came out all guns blazing and Verma gave her able support. She too found the fence when needed. However, there was another twist when Poonam got rid of Sushma in the penultimate over but Luus ensured she took her side home.

What a game of cricket! What a knock from Luus! What a partnership between herself and Verma. Before the two joined association, it looked down and out for Velocity but some outstanding batting has taken the batting side over the line.

Who will bowl the last over? Siriwardene it is! She has 8 to defend. Can she do it?

Shikha Pandey walks out to bat!

Poonam Yadav is back on! This is a very, very important over.

Khaka is back on! He has been the best so far for Supernovas. Needs a wicket here.

Shashikala Siriwardene is back!

DRINKS! Velocity now need to get going! They need to go at 10 in the last 5 overs but they do not have a lot of batters to come. Can the two pull something special off? We will find out.

The third edition of the Women's T20 Challenge is upon us. We are extremely lucky that the BCCI have managed to squeeze in this tournament despite all the challenges worldwide due to the existing pandemic. Once again the structure of this T20 tournament will be like it was in 2019 and all the matches will be played in Sharjah. Three teams, three round-robin matches and a final, it will be an event that will last for four days. It's going to be the two finalists of the last season to inaugurate this edition as defending champions Supernovas will clash with Velocity. The 2-time champions will be eyeing a hat-trick and under Harmanpreet Kaur they once again own a strong and quality squad. The players of the calibre of Jemimah Rodrigues, Priya Punia, Radha Yadav are the Indian stars and they will be joined by some extraordinary overseas talent in Chamari Atapattu, Shashikala Siriwardene and Ayabonga Khaka. For Velocity, skipper Mithali Raj will be hopeful of a big impact from their foreign recruits like Danni Wyatt, Sune Luus, Jahanara Alam and with the squad comprising of the proven Indian internationals in Veda Krishnamurthy, Shafali Verma, Ekta Bisht, Shikha Pandey, they will be looking for a strong first outing. With so many exciting players expected to be involved, it's going to be a starry affair at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Supernovas Team Squad -Harmanpreet Kaur,Jemimah Rodrigues,Muskan Malik,Priya Punia,Ayushi Soni,Chamari Atapattu,Shashikala Siriwardene,Taniya Bhatia,Anuja Patil,Arundhati Reddy,Ayabonga Khaka,Pooja Vastrakar,Poonam Yadav,Radha Yadav,Shakera Selman

Velocity Team Squad -Danni Wyatt,Meghna Singh,Mithali Raj,Shafali Verma,Veda Krishnamurthy,Devika Vaidya,Shikha Pandey,Sune Luus,Sushma Verma,Ekta Bisht,Jahanara Alam,Leigh Kasperek,Manali Dakshini,Mansi Joshi,Murali Anagha,Sushree Dibyadarshini