Women's T20 Challenge: Velocity beat Supernovas by five wickets in opening match

Velocity beat Supernovas by five wickets in the opening match of the Women's T20 Challenge in Sharjah.

Chasing 127, Velocity slipped to 38-3, losing England opener Danni Wyatt for a five-ball duck, before Sune Luus and Sushma Verma anchored the innings.

Sushma's 34 and a 21-ball 37 from Luus helped Velocity control the run-rate and ultimately win with one ball left.

Sri Lanka T20 captain Chamari Atapattu earlier impressed for Supernovas with 44 as they posted 126-8.

India limited-overs captain Harmanpreet Kaur also shone, hitting two sixes in her 31 as Supernovas looked to overcome some tight Velocity fielding.

Sushma and Luus arrived at the crease with Velocity crawling along at 65-4.

Both players hit out, Suhsma hitting two sixes and Luus one, before Luus showed fine match awareness to manoeuvre the final over of the match in Velocity's favour.

The Women's T20 Challenge is a six-day T20 competition between three teams in Sharjah.

It was intended to have four teams but the coronavirus pandemic has prevented any expansion.

A scheduling clash with the Women's Big Bash League in Australia has also kept a number of international players from joining the existing teams.

The competition is designed to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket, with India's women having not played competitive cricket since March.

England spinner and top-ranked T20 bowler Sophie Ecclestone will play for Trailblazers, who begin their campaign on Thursday against Velocity.

The tournament, which is in its third year, has often been described as a precursor to a women's IPL, which would include more teams and higher profile names.

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

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