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Player of the Match: Smriti Mandhana
That was one hell of an encounter between Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder and you can just understand the quality of the Renegades with the way they pulled things back. The match started with Melbourne Renegades struggling in the powerplay until Harmanpreet Kaur came to the crease and single-handedly drove it to a match-winning total. And she did her job perfectly with the ball to bowl the final over and clinch victory for her team from the jaws of defeat.
Sydney Thunder who were set a target of 176 came out positively and with attacking intent. Sammy-Jo Johnson and Smriti Mandhana came out to open the innings and started swiftly and the score at the end of 4 overs read 31-1 as Johson departed on the last ball of the 5th over.
But it was Smriti Mandhana who was the heartthrob of the innings and she played fearlessly with utmost self-belief that oozed out in her perfect crisp drives, lofting over the mid-wicket region and pull shots that consolidated an innings full of class and elegance. She took the attack to the opposition single-handedly and was even involved in a 125-run unbeaten partnership with Tahlia Wilson who just didn't seem in good touch and she was not able to time any balls properly mounting on more pressure on Mandhana but Smriti being the champion she is took the challenge hands-on and never backed down from firing.
Smriti Mandhana is in the form of her life and she needs to sustain this purple patch with more such scintillating innings. Her tenacity is infectious. It all started with the hundred in the test match down under and the confidence has been carried into the WBBL as well. The personality of a cricketer depicts in the way they play and the emotion they take from it. The pictures after the match today showed how exasperated Mandhana was with herself as if she was the reason they lost and was in complete disbelief. That is the sign of champion players who always take accountability for the things that happen on the field.
Coming to the exceptional bowling performance from Melbourne Renegades. Although there weren't too many wickets to show their intensity in the outing it definitely was worthy of winning a thrilling match.
Ella Hayward, Sophie Molineux and Harmanpreet Kaur were exceptional in their respective quotas. They didn't allow batters to score easily. Even if they were hit for a boundary, they made sure they weren't leaking more runs. Holly Ferling went for 36 runs in her three overs while the last over went for a whopping 24 runs that raised hopes in the Thunder dressing room courtesy of the mastery of Smriti Mandhana.
Sydney Thunder needed 22 runs in the last two overs and it came to 13 runs in the last over. Mandhana was dropped twice in this period and it felt like they dropped the match but Kaur came back even stronger to grasp victory for the Melbourne Renegades from the jaws of defeat.
Melbourne Renegades Women beat Sydney Thunder Women by 4 runs
That will be it from our side here at Sportskeeda. And we believe you just loved the coverage of this match as much as we had bringing it to you and for more such heart sinking and absorbing coverage, please stay tuned here at Sportskeeda as we bring you the best of the cricket encounters around the world.
So until next time, this is me Anavit Naik along with my exceptionally talented commentator and good friend Pradeep Somashekhar bidding you Goodbye!
WOAH! We can't get our breath back as of yet. Can you all?
This must be so heartbreaking for Smriti Mandhana
Sanju Samson, you can relate maybe?
20
overs
171/2score
1
1
1
2
2
1
runs
Smriti Mandhana*
114(64)
Tahlia Wilson
40(39)
Harmanpreet Kaur
1/27
19.6 Harmanpreet Kaur to Smriti Mandhana, DOESN'T GET IT! Mandhana's stunning inning goes in vain and the Renegades go home by 4 runs! Drag down from Kaur as Mandhana comes down the track to heave, she doesn't time it and she knows, her head goes down and a fighting innings from Mandhana goes in the losing cause. Wilson probably dragged the Thunder innings back with a strike rate of under a 100!
She is ready
A six to win and boundary to lose
The pressure is so high!
Sydney Thunder Women need 6 runs in 1 ball
19.5 Harmanpreet Kaur to Smriti Mandhana, DROPPED! Would you believe it? Ferling drops a sitter at long-off. Length delivery on the outside off and Mandhana skips down the track to hoick but miscues it straight down the fielder's throat who slides across and then spills as they come back for another brace.
OHH MY GOD
19.4 Harmanpreet Kaur to Smriti Mandhana, drops it short on the outside off as Mandhana comes down the track to hoick but mistimes it down to long-off, fumble from the fielder and that allow Mandhana to scamper back for the second.
Is there a misfield? Yes and they come back for the second run
Sydney Thunder Women need 10 runs in 3 remaining balls
19.3 Harmanpreet Kaur to Tahlia Wilson, drops it short skids into Wilson on the middle and leg as she comes down the track and clips it to square-leg for another single. Need a boundary from somewhere!
19.2 Harmanpreet Kaur to Smriti Mandhana, OH MY! Top edge and falls in no man's land, length delivery on the middle and off as Mandhana goes down her knee to slog it, single taken!
Ohh its the India captain bowling to her national vice-captain
19.1 Harmanpreet Kaur to Tahlia Wilson, tosses up a full delivery on the wide of off-stump as Wilson reaches for it and slaps it towards extra-cover and gets Mandhana on strike!