Match Details
Heap and Morris stitched a quick 45-run partnership for the second wicket before Linsey Smith cleaned up the right-handed Heap for 15(12). The left-arm spinner Smith then dismissed Morris 36(25) and gathered momentum for the Vipers. Deandra Dottin portrayed her pyrotechnic abilities before the right-hander holed out in the deep for 24(14) at a crucial juncture.
Thunder were tottering at 84/4 when Sophie Ecclestone and skipper Eleanor Threlkeld soaked up the pressure and added 42 runs for the 5th wicket. Ecclestone was fortunate enough to be dropped a couple of times and the right-hander shed a glimmer of hope in the Thunder dugout by orchestrating a crucial 33(23). Following the wicket of Ecclestone, Thunder were unable to accelerate the innings and they fell 18 runs short of the target eventually.
Earlier in the day, after being invited to bat first, Danielle Nicole Wyatt and Maia Bouchier powered the defending champions to a cracking start. Both the right-handers toyed with the field inside the powerplay and kept the scorecard ticking swiftly. Bouchier was the primary aggressor in the partnership and took the aerial route while Wyatt kept maneuvering the ball into the gaps.
The Southern Vipers aggregated 50 runs off the powerplay and both Wyatt and Bouchier went on to notch up their respective half-centuries. Wyatt and Bouchier stitched a massive 108-run opening partnership before Mahika Gaur provided the desperate breakthrough to Thunder by dismissing Bouchier for 56(32). The departure of Bouchier did not cease Wyatt’s progress as she continued her onslaught in the middle overs.
Skipper Georgia Adams was unable to capitalize on the laid foundation as Olivia Bell 5(6) had the better of her in the 15th over. Bell attained the huge scalp of Wyatt 76(50) in the same over and that was followed by two more wickets in quick succession to turn the tide of the contest. Olivia Bell’s fantastic four-wicket haul (4/37) restricted the Vipers to a score below 200, which was easily achievable at one stage.