Twitter Reactions: Shafali Verma, Eve Jones crush Welsh Fire to give Birmingham Phoenix second win

Shafali brought up her maiden half-century in the Hundred off 22 balls.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Evelyn Jones and Shafali Verma
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Evelyn Jones and Shafali Verma. (Photo by Nathan Stirk – ECB/ECB via Getty Images)

After the first half of the Women’s Hundred, Birmingham Phoenix was going nowhere as they were placed in the bottom half of the points table. However, Amy Jones and Co. made a stupendous comeback after they beat Welsh Fire by 10 wickets on Monday. Shafali Verma and Eve Jones’ unbeaten 131-run partnership didn’t allow the Fire to get a foothold back into the contest.

Fire restrict the Phoenix batters

After electing to field first, the Phoenix restricted the Fire to 127 for nine. Opener Bryony Smith played well for his 36-ball 38 with four fours and a six. She was also involved in a steady opening-stand of 36 runs with Hayley Matthews. But once Smith perished, the other batters strained. Georgia Redmayne and Sarah Taylor scored 17 and 16 respectively, but none could carry on.

Matthews has been the standout batter for the Fire in the tournament and could manage 13. In the end, it was Alice MacLeod’s unbeaten 13-ball 19 that propelled the Fire to some extent. Left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon was the pick of the bowlers for the Phoenix as she picked up two wickets. Erin Burns and Emily Arlott also bowled well as they gave away runs at less than a run-a-ball.

Verma wreak havoc

Verma had strained in the first four games for the Phoenix. However, on Monday, she gave an account of her stupendous skills. On the back of her fearless start, the Phoenix scored 47 runs in the powerplay. Then she went on to notch her fifty off a mere 22 balls as the required rate came down below a run-a-ball. Hayley Matthews, the Fire’s leading wicket-taker, was also taken to the cleaners.

Verma stayed unbeaten on 76 off 42 with nine fours and two sixes. Her partner, Jones, was a tad sedate early in her knock. But at the dying stages of the game, she played her strokes as well. The left-hander stayed not out on 52 runs off 35 balls with nine fours. In the end, the Fire chased the 128-run target down with 24 balls to spare and got their net run rate up to 0.200.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to Birmingham Phoenix’s win

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The Hundred Womens 2023Birmingham Phoenix (Women)