Women's Big Bash League 2017-18, Day 1: Round up

The much-awaited extravaganza of Women’s cricket Big Bash League (WBBL) got underway in Australia on Saturday. As many as three matches were played on the day and all of them were the high-scoring one. While the two teams crossed 200-run barrier while batting first, the other game saw 180+ score which clearly proves Women’s cricket is at its best now. However, WBBL is the first major event after the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup has arrived with a bang and is here to stay.

Thunders survive Duffin scare in a thriller

The tournament began with a match between Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Renegades at the home ground of the former side. The hosts piled on the runs after losing the toss despite being 41/4 at one stage in the eighth over. Rachel Haynes scored a brilliant half-century and was dismissed on 55 off just 41 deliveries. But the real impetus was given by the lower order batters Naomi Stalenberg, Nicola Carey and Rene Farrell who propelled their team’s score to 200/6 after 20 overs.

In reply, Renegades started brightly with a quick-fire 25 off just 14 cherries by Sophie Molineux along with Chamari Athapaththu who scored 42 in no time. But the real momentum to the scoring was provided by Jessica Duffin who smashed 81 off just 47 deliveries only to be dismissed in the 18th over. Her wicket changed the things around for Thunders and won the game by 11 runs restricting Melbourne to 189/6.

The Indian star Harmanpreet Kaur who is playing for Sydney Thunders couldn’t make any impact on the game by scoring only 8 runs with the bat and conceded 16 runs in the only over she bowled.

Strikers roll over Hobart by 45 runs

Another home side Adelaide Strikers registered a thumping win over Hobart Hurricanes in Adelaide in the second match of the tournament. The batting line-up filled with some star players, Strikers put 183 runs on the board for the loss of only 3 wickets with all their 5 batsmen scoring beyond 20. Sophie Devine was the star amongst them who scored 46 off just 21 balls with 4 fours and a couple of maximums.

Hobart Hurricanes never looked comfortable in their chase and lost wickets at regular intervals. Hayley Matthews was the only batter who resisted the bowling and scored 35 runs which was the highest score of the innings for them. Eventually, they could post only 138/9 after 20 overs and lost the game by 45 runs. They would want to resurrect things soon before things go out of hands.

Another Indian to feature in the league, Veda Krishnamurthy too didn’t have a great day as she failed to take her team over the line. She managed to score only 6 runs off 12 balls and bowled a solitary over in which 9 runs were scored by the opposition.

Sixers register huge win over Stars

The day has to be tipped as the one for the home sides with the third game also won by the hosts. Sydney Sixers literally annihilated Melbourne Stars by scoring a monumental 242 after being inserted to bat first. Ashleigh Gardner was the star batter who smashed the first century of the season by scoring 114 off just 52 deliveries with 9 fours and as many as 10 sixes. She was supported excellently by the skipper Ellyse Perry who missed out on a century and remained unbeaten on 91 off 49 cherries.

Stars were bound to struggle in the tall chase but Lizelle Lee put up a stunning fight at the top as the wickets fell from the other end. She scored 64 off 36 balls and hit eight boundaries and four gigantic sixes during her stay. Her wicket in the 12th over ended the contest left in the game and Stars could only notch up 156 runs falling short of the target by 86 runs.

Brief Scores:

Match 1: Melbourne Renegades Women v Sydney Thunder Women

Thunder 200/6 after 20 overs (R Haynes 55, N Carey 47*)

Renegades 189/6 after 20 overs (J Duffin 81, C Athapaththu 42; S Taylor 2/30)

Match 2: Hobart Hurricanes Women v Adelaide Strikers Women

Strikers 183/3 after 20 overs (S Devine 46*, T Beaumont 43; C Raack 1/22)

Hurricanes 138/9 after 20 overs (H Matthews 35; S Devine 2/20, M Schutt 2/26)

Match 3: Sydney Sixers Women v Melbourne Stars Women

Sixers 242/4 after 20 overs (A Gardner 114, E Perry 91*; E Osborne 2/33)

Stars 156/7 after 20 overs (L Lee 64; S Aley 2/30, M Kapp 2/31)