The Hundred Women’s 2022, Match 9 Review: Marizanne Kapp pulls off miracle to take Oval Invincibles over the line

It was an exciting encounter between the Trent Rockets and the Oval Invincibles as the two clashed in a low-scoring thriller in the ninth game of The Hundred Women’s 2022. The defending champions Invincibles had faced a blow in their previous game against the Southern Brave, but they bounced back stronger to defeat Trent Rockets in the final few deliveries of the game.

The Rockets did not get off to the desired start as their opener Bryony Smith was yet again dismissed for a poor score within the powerplay. Their skipper Natalie Sciver handled the game thereon and kept scoring runs at every opportunity that she received. Elyse Villani struggled to score during her tenure with the bat, but when got into the rhythm, she faced an unfortunate run-out and eventually had to walk back to the pavilion.

The Rockets faced a terrible collapse, and wickets kept falling like dominoes. It was Sciver who held the rope from one end, bagged an unbeaten half-century, but could not find a partner at the other end to build a partnership with. Alana King, who was promoted up the order, also lost her wicket after a poor choice of shot. Alice Capsey was unstoppable as she proved her presence on the field by either taking wickets, taking the catches with perfection, or contributing to runouts.

Suzie Bates, Alice Capsey, and Marizanne Kapp work wonders with the bat

At the end, Trent Rockets ended up scoring 112/8 in their 100-ball quota and posted a low target of 113 runs. It might have looked like an easy chase, but the Rockets had previously won a low-scoring game, and this time again they tried their best to restrict the Oval Invincibles batters from scoring big runs. The visitors faced a major blow when their opener Lauren Winfield-Hill fell prey to Smith in the powerplay.

But a composed 47-run stand between Suzie Bates and Capsey for the second wicket helped their side go string in their chase. Rockets’ Sarah Glenn struck twice in her set of overs to not just break their partnership, but also dismiss the duo in quick succession. All-rounder Marizanne Kapp and Mady Villiers carried the game thereon as the former wreaked havoc to add the big runs on board.

While Villiers did not get much of an opportunity to bat before losing her wicket, Kapp displayed a strong performance with the bat and hit six boundaries to remain unbeaten at 34*(27) at the end of the game. Bryony Smith posed as a threat to the Invincibles when she came to bowl the final 10 balls.

She took two wickets and conceded just three runs off her first eight deliveries as the game came down to the final two deliveries. That is when Kapp scored the winning runs by finding the gap and sending the ball towards the fence. The Invincibles thus won the game by five wickets on the 99th delivery, with just one ball to spare and handed the Rockets another disappointment.