Women's T20 Challenge: Jemimah Rodrigues' unbeaten 77 helps Supernovas beat Velocity and enter final

Agencies
May 10, 2019

May 10: Teenager Jemimah Rodrigues struck an unbeaten 77 to help Supernovas beat Velocity by 12 runs and enter the final of the Women's T20 Challenge on Thursday.

The two sides will again face each other in the summit clash on Saturday as the third team, Trailblazers, who also secured the same two points as Velocity and Supernova, finished third on the basis of net run rate.

Sent into bat in their must-win match, the Supernovas scored 142 for 3, thanks to 18-year-old Rodrigues' 48-ball 77 not out and then restricted Velocity to 130 for 3 to win the final round-robin league match of the tournament.

After Thursday's result, all the three teams ended on two points each after one win by each side but Velocity and Supernovas ended with plus 0.25 and plus 0.045 net runs rates respectively while the Trailblazers secured minus 0.305.

Trailblazers had beaten Supernovas by 2 runs in the opening match on Monday while Velocity had defeated Trailblazers by three wickets on Wednesday.

Chasing 143 for a win, Velocity lost early wickets with the openers Hayley Matthews (11) and Shafali Verma (2) being dismissed cheaply to be reduced to 21 for 2 in the fourth over.

One-down Englishwoman Danielle Wyatt threatened to take the game away from Supernovas with a 33-ball 43 but she was out in the 12th over after a 56-run stand with captain Mithali Raj who remained 40 not out off 42 balls.

Raj shared a partnership of 53 runs with Veda Krishnamurthy (30 not out) for the unbeaten fourth wicket but the duo could not chase down the target. The total was, however, enough for Velocity to make it to the final.

By the 19th over, the duo knew that their team would be through to the final despite a loss.

For Supernovas, leg-spinner Poonam Yadav was the most impressive bowler with one wicket at the expense of 13 runs from her four overs.

Earlier, Rodrigues struck 10 fours and a six from 48 balls in her aggressive unbeaten innings after the Supernovas were sent in to bat in their must-win match.

Coming out to bat in the fifth over after the dismissal of opener Priya Punia (16) when the team's score was 29 for 1, Rodrigues was involved in two substantial partnerships as she anchored the Supernova innings admirably well.

She first had a 55-run stand with Sri Lankan Chamari Atapattu (31) for the second wicket before stitching another partnership of 50 runs with Sophie Devine (9) of New Zealand for the third wicket.

Rodrigues, a member of the semifinalist Indian side in the 2018 Women's T20 World Cup, was most severe against pacewoman Komal Zanzad (0/29) who was hit for four boundaries.

Rodrigues hit the only six of her unbeaten knock off the bowling of Jahanara Alam (0/34) in the 18th over.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur also remained not out on 1 from five deliveries.

The Supernovas, however, failed to accelerate in the second half of their innings after they were 63 for 1 at the end of 10 overs. They added just 33 in the last five overs.

For Velocity, New Zealander Amelia Kerr took two wickets for 21 runs from her leg-spin while pacewoman Shikha Pandey got one.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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