Mariko Hill takes Jade Jets to Hong Kong Premier League win with a match to spare

Mariko Hill starred with the bat yet again for Jade Jets as they beat Bauhinia Stars in the second match of Hong Kong Women’s Premier League T20 at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground in Mong Kok on Sunday (June 20). Jets now clinched the three-match series with an unassailable 2-0 lead.



Put into bat after by the Stars, Jets got off to a bad start when Alison Siu took the wicket of Jets opener Pull To with her first ball of the match. After this early shock Hill batted responsibly with number three Keenu Gill and formed a partnership of 54 runs before Ruchitha Venkatesh accounted for Gill in the tenth over.



Hill brought her half-century in the 13th over hitting Jennifer Alumbro for a four over cow corner. But, she was immediately dismissed in the next over for 56. Her stroke filled knock included ten fours. From 86 for four, Jets captain Jasmine Eve Titmuss and Tinaz Karbhari added 36 runs in the final six overs to take their innings to 122 for four at the end of the stipulated 20 overs.



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In the chase, Lai Wing Ki and Stars’ wicket-keeper Shanzeen Shahzad began cautiously but they lost Win Ki in the fourth over of the bowling off to Eve Titmuss. By the end of the power play, Stars were one for 29. However, Shahzad and Jaswinder Kaur added another 52 runs for the second wicket to take the score to 67 in 12.1 overs before Betty Chan broke this partnership by removing Kaur for 19 off 33 balls.



Post Kaur’s departure, Stars lost seven wickets for just 38 runs with as many as four run-outs among them. Shahzad was run-out three short of her half-century in the 19th over and with that Stars' hopes of chasing down the target ended. They eventually finished 17 runs short of the Jets score at 105 for nine at the end of their innings. For Jets, Eve Titmuss and Gill took two wickets each.



The final match of the three-match series will be played on June 27 at the same venue



Brief Scores: Jade Jets 122/4 in 20 overs (Mariko Hill 56, Tinaz Karbhari 19*; Maheen Haider 1/9) beat Bauhinia Stars 105/9 in 20 overs (Shanzeen Shahzad 47, Jaswinder Kaur 19; Jasmine Eve Titmuss 2/14) by 17 runs POTM: Mariko Hill