Supernovas skipper Harmanpreet Kaur heaped praise on Sophie Ecclestone for her 'outstanding' last over which guided the team to thrilling four runs victory against Velocity in the Women's T20 Challenge on Saturday.
Brilliant knocks by Deandra Dottin and Harmanpreet Kaur were backed by a clinical effort by bowlers as Supernovas defeated Velocity in a thrilling final to claim the Women's T20 Challenge crown at MCA Stadium here on Saturday.
English left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone conceded 12 runs in the final over from which Velocity needed 17 to pull off a thrilling four runs win.
"The way Sophie bowled was outstanding. She was quite confident. If you have a bowler who is so confident, half the job is done. I was just giving her placement and she was bowling the way she wanted to bowl. When you have teammates who always want to play each and every moment, you do that whether it's in your favour or not," Kaur added.
While the crowd was at the edge of their seats, Harmanpreet kept her calm throughout the intense last over despite Velocity's Laura Wolvaardt was smashing bowlers all across the park. "My heartbeat was normal", she said when asked about the last tense moments of the match and was ready for such a close game.
"It was always normal (heartbeat). I know this game going to be like that only and I was prepared for that. Great effort by the girls. We never felt we won the game and we knew anything could happen. The first over was not in our favour but I knew if we get 2 early wickets, the match can turn for us. At the right moment, we were getting the wickets. When Pooja started, we planned something else, but she wasn't able to bowl what we were thinking. It happens," said Harmanpreet Kaur in a post-match presentation.
This was the third Women's T20 Challenge title for Supernovas while Velocity will have to wait further for their first-ever title. The thrilling encounter was settled in the final over as Velocity picked up momentum towards the later half of the innings after suffering some initial blows.
17 runs were needed in the last over and Sophie Eccleston did concede a six on the very first ball but the experienced pacer held her nerves to see the final through for Supernovas.
( With inputs from ANI )
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