Hobart Hurricanes 76 for 3 (Villani 39*) beat Adelaide Strikers 74 for 1 (Wolvaardt 35*, Mack 32) by seven wickets
Restricted to an eight overs per side contest, Villani bludgeoned an unbeaten 39 from 24 balls as Hurricanes chased down the target of 75 with an over to spare.
It was an impressive bounce back from Hurricanes, who suffered two big losses against Perth Scorchers to start the season.
Strikers were left to rue Danielle Gibson dropping Villani with a regulation chance at midwicket on the second ball of the innings. Villani made them pay instantly with a couple of boundaries off legspinner Anesu Mushangwe.
They lost Bryony Smith and Heather Graham, but consecutive boundaries off thick outside edges from Ruth Johnston got the Hurricanes over the line.
There were fears of a washout with rain persistent throughout the day in Brisbane, but the match finally got underway almost two hours after schedule.
She succeeded in whacking offspinner Molly Strano for successive boundaries in the opening over, but it wasn’t easy with the ball coming off the wicket slowly and the outfield wet.
After struggling to hit boundaries square of the wicket, the openers sought an inventive approach with Wolvaardt clearing her leg to conjure several effective slogs as they plundered 26 runs across the fifth and sixth overs.
Just when Strikers had the momentum, they were shackled at the death with quick Shabnim Ismail cleverly changing her pace and bowling into the wicket. A desperate Strikers went for broke with Mack run-out after turning back for an unlikely second run.
They finished on a high with a Wolvaardt boundary but the total ultimately was not enough, with the last two overs bringing just 15, as Strikers’ title defence has started with two defeats from their opening four games.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
Source: ESPN Crickinfo