WBBL | Hemalatha-Devine power duo and precision bowling dominate Sydney Thunder

Debayan Sinha

ByDebayan Sinha, SportsCafe Editor

90
no photo

Perth Scorchers defeated Sydney Thunder by 74 runs at Sydney, climbing to second place in the points table. The Scorchers’ batting was led by Sophie Devine’s 48 off 34 and Dayalan Hemalatha’s 41 off 26 while Sydney struggled with their batting and was bundled out for a mere 97 runs.

‌Sitting at the top of the table, Sydney Thunder faced off against Perth Scorchers in Sydney for the 24th game. Scorchers skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and chose to bat first, but the decision backfired. Opener Beth Mooney was run out in the second over, and the troubles continued as Chloe Piparo fell to Chamari Athapaththu. With Devine and Dayalan Hemalatha at the crease, the visitors reached 74/2 by the ninth over. Hemalatha, in sublime form, struck a 26-ball fifty, helping stabilize the innings after the early setbacks. However, her impressive knock ended in the 10th over as Athapaththu struck again. Amy Jones joined Devine, and together they added 35 runs, taking the score to 114/4 in 15 overs. But Proteas star Shabnim Ismail broke the partnership by dismissing Jones. Devine continued to attack, reaching 36 off 28 by the 17th over. However, wickets tumbled in the death overs as Mikayla Hinkley, Devine, and Chloe Ainsworth all departed. Ultimately, a solid bowling comeback from Sydney Thunder restricted Perth Scorchers to 171/7 at the end of 20 overs.

In response, Sydney Thunder had a shaky start as Ainsworth struck in the first over, dismissing Chamari Athapaththu. The trouble continued when Ainsworth claimed Georgia Voll shortly after. With Heather Knight and Phoebe Litchfield at the crease, Thunder managed to reach 42/2 by the seventh over. However, Litchfield couldn't build on her start and was dismissed in the eighth over. At the halfway point, Thunder's struggles deepened as they stood at 55/4 after Knight’s departure, leaving them needing 117 runs from the remaining 60 balls. Anika Learoyd fell in the next over followed by Sammy Jo-Johnson failing to shine. Hannah Darlington and Tahlia Wilson nurdled for three overs before the tail fell like a pack of cards, ending at 97 as Sydney won the game by 74 runs. 

Brilliabt catch!

That was poor shot selection!

Yeah!

Yeah!

Pretty decent!

You tell us!

Looks like it has!

Going slow actually!

Hahaha! LOL :D

 

laught0
astonishment0
sadness0
heart0
like0
dislike0

Comments

Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions

0 Comments