WPL weekly star-tracker (Jul 15): Hi Pooja, South Africa's wrecker-in-chief
A week of T20s, and as with T20s, it’s our all-rounders who’ve grabbed the headlines. Here’s your weekly roundup..
India vs South Africa
Pooja Vastrakar: So after losing the first T20I and then the second one getting washed out, India found themselves in a must-win position come the third game, and in true clutch-player style, Aapli Pooja stood up, picked up four wickets to derail the South African batting, and got them all-out for just 84 to lead India’s comeback in making it 1-1. A Player of the Match and a Player of the Series for our Champion.
Harmanpreet Kaur: Apart from marshalling her troops (which she did brilliantly!), she didn’t have much to do with bat or ball, thanks to Pooja’s exploits, and then thanks to the Indian openers in Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma finishing the game off quickly.
Chloe Tryon: She was the calm in the storm! In the midst of all her SA counterparts going for runs, Chloe snuck in two overs for just eight runs, in India’s chase of 85 that lasted just 10.5 overs.
Sajana Sajeevan: Another game where the top-order didn’t give her the chance to bat. With the ball, Kaptaan Kaur threw her the new ball, but that was the lone over she’d bowl in the game, thanks to the Pooja show.
******
England vs New Zealand
Nat Sciver-Brunt: Nat, as England’s T20I skipper for this series, is on a dream run, winning each of the four games played thus far. She opened the attack and got an early wicket in the second game, and hit the winning runs in the fourth game with a 12-ball 17. Given how easy the wins have been for England, she’s been happy to let her teammates to a bulk of the heavylifting while she shuffles her bowlers around.
Amelia Kerr: Although our Mumbai-Kerr has been chipping in with both bat and ball, the numbers haven’t quite been as big or as impactful as we’ve gotten used to seeing from her. She got two wickets in the second T20I, anchored the NZ innings with an 18-ball 23 in the third, and then got the big wicket of Alice Capsey in the fourth. You’ve been warned, a huge one is right around the corner.