Twitter Reactions: Amada-Jade Wellington, Sophia Dunkley strangle Oval Invincibles

Southern Brave, on Monday, defeated the Oval Invincibles by a mammoth margin of 30 runs at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. While the Anya Shrubsole-captained Brave have qualified for the final, the Invincibles are yet to make the playoffs and stand a chance of getting eliminated. London Spirit and Northern Superchargers have every chance of toppling them on the basis of net run rate.

Dunkley steps up

After being put in to bat first, the Brave strained for a chunk of their innings. Ireland’s Gaby Lewis, who replaced Smriti Mandhana, perished cheaply and Danielle Wyatt’s 20 came at a run-a-ball. Wyatt got out while trying to hit Alice Capsey downtown. Staphanie Taylor couldn’t press the accelerator as well. The veteran West Indies’ batter notched 23 runs off 26 balls with two fours.

Sophia Dunkley injected some momentum into the innings. The right-hander played until the very end and scored an unbeaten 39-ball 58 with seven fours and one six. On the back of her knock, the Brave got themselves up to 115 for three in 20 overs. For the Invincibles, Tash Farrant was the most successful as she picked up two wickets. Mady Villiers leaked runs at an expensive economy of 1.55.

Oval Invincibles crumble

The Invincibles made a steady start to their run-chase after Georgia Adams and Dane van Niekerk put on 21 for the opening wicket. But they were back under the pump as Adams and later Fran Wilson got out in quick succession. However, van Niekerk and his South Africa teammate Marizanne Kapp stitched together a 40-run stand to keep the Invincibles in the hunt for an impressive victory.

But once Amanda-Jade Wellington pinned Kapp, who made a 24-ball 26, the Invincibles’ batting crumbled alarmingly. The leg-spinner also picked up the crucial wicket of van Niekerk for 31 and ended with figures of 20-11-12-4. She got the apt support from fast bowler Lauren Bell, who got three wickets as well. From 64 for two, the Invincibles were shot out for 85 in a space of 30 balls.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to the Southern Brave’s win

Southern Brave (Women) : 115/3 (100 balls)
Oval Invincibles (Women) : 85/10 (94 balls)
Brave won by 30 runs
Player of the match : Sophia Dunkley (Southern Brave)#TheHundred 🏏 pic.twitter.com/a883Kr91gX

— Ishara Isuru 🏏⚽️🏉 (@Ishisuru1) August 16, 2021

For single-handedly taking the team to a competitive total, Sophia Dunkley was the Match Hero for today! #TheHundred pic.twitter.com/rMHt6NB76A

— Women's CricZone (@WomensCricZone) August 16, 2021

Sophia Dunkley's last three innings in The Hundred:

50* (28)
23* (13)
58* (39)

131 unbeaten runs off 80 balls.#TheHundred

— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) August 16, 2021

We are going to be talking a lot about Sophia Dunkley in the coming decade.

— Gomesh Shanmugavelayutham (@theumpires_call) August 16, 2021

Sophia Dunkley! 58 from 39 from 10 off 14. But Brave have missed Mandhana. Only 115 in the end.

— Kunal Tolani🏏 (@Kunal_jt) August 16, 2021

Sophia Dunkley 🔥🔥👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 #TheHundred

— Mandara Manjunath (@MandaraManjuna2) August 16, 2021