In a high-scoring affair and an exciting contest, Melbourne Renegades defeated the Adelaide Strikers by five wickets and with just two balls to spare. Batting first Strikers made 160 runs and a late flurry by Strikers, powered by Harmanpreet Kaur bagged them a win. Melbourne is now seated at the top of Women’s Big Bash League Table with five wins and three of those victories have come out to do scintillating efforts by Harmanpreet Kaur.
South African pair of Laura Woolvardt and Dane van Niekerk sizzles
The Strikers got off to a sensational start. Katie Mack and South African captain Dane van Niekerk formed a 43 runs partnership for the opening wicket. Katie fell after scoring 19 and Laura Woolvardt came to the crease with a mission. Both Dane and Laura ran hard while also hitting some beautiful shots along the way. The pair mustered up 73 runs before Carly Leeson got rid of Dane van Niekerk. Dane played a stellar knock of 62 runs from 47 balls.
After the Strikers got Niekerk, the dangerous Tahlia McGrath fell soon too but Woolvardt kept the run flow up. Laura fell to Kaur at the score of 148 and after making 47 runs in 35 balls. The team took 12 runs in the last over courtesy of a boundary by Bridget Patterson. For the Renegades, Kaur took two wickets for 31 runs in her four while Ellie Falconer returned the most economical figures of 25 runs for 1 wicket in her four overs.
Kaur blows away the Strikers
After Jemimah Rodrigues played a quick-fire inning of 27 runs in just 16 balls. Her compatriot Kaur joined Eve Jones, who followed Rodrigues to the dugout soon after. A well-composed Josephine Dooley and a six-happy Kaur built a crucial partnership. The true contrasting styles suited each other well and while Harmanpreet bundled up boundaries, Josephine kept the score ticking with singles and doubles. When Dooley fell after making 29 runs off 28 balls, the team had a mountain to climb, needing 58 runs off just 31 balls.
At this stage of the game, Kaur showed her power-hitting in full swing and cut loose. Duffin fell when the team needed 10 runs off 8 balls and a Molineux boundary at the last ball of 19th over pretty much sealed the game. Sophie’s second four seized the game for Renegades and once again Harmanpreet stood at the helm. For the Strikers, veteran seamer Megan Schutt returned the most impressive figures of the game with two wickets for just 18 runs in her four overs.