The left-hander took Sydney Thunder within a six after securing a remarkable win against the Melbourne Renegades, but was unable to hit the maximum required by Harmanpreet’s final delivery.
Smriti Mandhana on Wednesday became the first Indian to score a century in the Women’s Big Bash League with a record unbeaten 114 runs, but her scintillating effort went in vain as her team lost the match to Sydney Thunder.
Ironically, Mandhana could not hit the winning six off India’s T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur as Melbourne Renegades won the match by four runs to knock Sydney Thunder out of the race for the final.
Mandhana, who faced 64 balls, punished the bowlers with 14 fours and three sixes, equaling Australian batsman Ashleigh Gardner’s highest individual score in WBBL history.
The left-hander took Thunder within a six of securing a remarkable win against the Renegades, but she was unable to hit the required maximum from Harmanpreet’s final delivery as her team finished on 171/2.
The defending champions needed an upset victory to keep their slim final hopes alive, and had a less than ideal start, with Sammy-Jo Johnson (12) and Phoebe Litchfield (1) getting out inside the powerplay.
Finding a steady partner in Tahlia Wilson (38 not out from 39 balls), Mandhana scored her third half-century of the season in 33 balls. But the asking rate was on the rise with 63 needed from the last five overs.
Mandhana conceded 24 runs in the 18th over off Holly Ferling. He then completed his century in 57 balls but there was still work to be done as 22 runs were needed from the last two overs.
Renegades captain Sophie Molyneux conceded just nine runs in the 19th over and Mandhana was left to face her national captain Harmanpreet’s off-spin.
Mandhana, who was the beneficiary of two fielding errors, eventually failed to hit a six off the last ball, which would have been a famous victory.
Earlier, Harmanpreet was the top-scorer for the Renegades, who was asked to bat first, scoring an unbeaten 81 in 55 balls with 11 fours and two sixes.
He shared a 91-run partnership with English batsman Eve Jones (42 runs in 33 balls) for the third wicket. Another Indian opener Jemima Rodrigues was dismissed for 2 in the first over.
The Renegades took the top spot with the win and remained in the box seat to advance straight to the final.
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