Dottin 50* trumps Rodrigues' 57 as Spirit down Superchargers

Dottin walked in at no.4 after Heather Knight’s (16 off 14 balls) fall. Along with Tammy Beaumont, she resurrected the Spirit innings that seemed to be a bit off track at that point, with them needing 78 in 59 balls.  The West Indian allrounder showed her might in the following set, smashing Alice Davidson-Richards down the ground for a four. However, Katie Levick kept things tight and after 55 balls, Spirit needed 61 more.

Phoebe Graham’s second set paved way for Dottin’s acceleration, where she hit three fours. She followed it up with another one off Davidson-Richards in the next set. Beaumont, who in the interim had moved to 42, fell with 20 runs in sight in 13 balls.

However, with Danielle Gibson for company, Dottin hit three fours in the last four balls she faced to notch up the win for Spirit as well as her first half century in The Hundred.

Linsey Smith began the chase with a couple of strikes – that of Naomi Dattani and Knight – to finish with two wickets for just 15 runs in her 20 balls. Davidson-Richards was the other wicket-taker for Superchargers.

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Earlier, Rodrigues continued her rich vein of form with her third fifty-plus score in four matches of The Hundred. After Superchargers lost Lauren Winfield-Hill (one) early, Rodrigues found an ally in Laura Wolvaardt for 55 runs. The duo took their time to get in – Superchargers were just 26 for one after the power play.

The Indian batter then began the acceleration, by first paddling Knight through fine leg and then belting Danielle Gibson for two fours over covers in a single set of five. After 50 balls, Superchargers were one for 61. That’s when Sophie Munro, who dismissed Winfield-Hill earlier, struck again, dismissing Wolvaardt for 22 off 21 balls.

However, Rodrigues continued her merry ways, almost unaffected by her South African batting partner’s fall. She then got together with Davidson-Richards, with whom she guided Superchargers home in the first match, and added 46 together. In the process, Rodrigues also completed her third half century in the competition.

But in a bid to accelerate, she tried to swipe one to the on side against a Freya Davies off-cutter and only managed to top edge it to short third man. Soon Davidson-Richards also fell for 22 leaving the away team on four for 111 with six balls left.

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But the belligerent Laura Kimmince yet again used the long handle to good effect, finishing unbeaten on 15 off just six balls to help the women in purple to get to 126. Munro, who finished with two for 20, was the pick of the bowlers for Spirit.

Brief Scores: Northern Superchargers 126/5 in 100 balls (Jemimah Rodrigues 57, Laura Wolvaardt 21, Alice Davidson-Richards 22; Sophie Munro 2/20) lost to London Spirit 129/3 in 98 balls (Deandra Dottin 50*, Tammy Beaumont 42; Linsey Smith 2/15) by seven wickets. POTM: Deandra Dottin