On Monday (6th May) night, Trailblazers secured a thrilling two-run victory against Supernovas in the first match of Women’s T20 Challenge 2019 at Jaipur.
The Turning Point of the Match
Experienced Jhulan Goswami held her nerve under pressure. In the final over of the match, Supernovas needed to score 19 runs to win that match. Supernovas’ captain Harmanpreet Kaur smashed four fours in that over but failed to score the remaining three more runs on the final ball of the game. Harmanpreet completely missed that final ball and the wicketkeeper Ravi Kalpana ran-out Lea Tahuhu.
Trailblazers vs Supernovas – 2nd innings
Chasing down the 141 runs target, Supernovas lost their wickets at regular intervals. After the opener Priya Punia (1) lost her wicket in the second over, Sri Lankan star Chamari Atapattu put a 49-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues for the second wicket. Despite the Trailblazers fielders dropped multiple chances during that partnership, both of them failed to take those opportunities. Atapattu scored 26 runs while Jemimah managed to score 24 runs.
Struggling on 74/4, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and the New Zealand player Sophie Devine provided a crucial partnership. They had a brilliant 48-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Devine lost her wicket in the 19th over after scoring 32 runs off 22 balls (2 fours and two sixes).
In the final over, Harmanpreet just failed to reach the target. Supernovas captain remained not out on 46 runs off 34 balls (8 fours), while they managed to score 138/6 (20 overs).
Among the Trailblazers’ bowlers, left-arm spinners Sophie Ecclestone (2/11) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2/17) claimed two wickets each.
Trailblazers vs Supernovas – 1st innings
After winning the toss, Supernovas’ captain Harmanpreet Kaur decided to field first. New Zealand star Suzie Bates opened with the Indian youngster Smriti Mandhana for Trailblazers. Though Bates (1) lost her wicket cheaply in the second over, Trailblazers’ captain Mandhana carried that innings along with another Indian youngster Harleen Deol.
Mandhana and Harleen had the impressive 119 runs partnership for the second wicket that helped Trailblazers to manage a challenging first innings total. They stretched that partnership to the 19th over of that innings.
After completing her half-century in 47 balls, Mandhana played aggressively till the end. While Harleen scored 36 runs off 44 balls (3 fours), Mandhana was brilliant at the other end. Trailblazers’ captain scored 90 runs off 67 balls with the help of 10 fours and three sixes. Mandhana finally lost her wicket in the final over of that innings.
Caribbean all-rounder Stafanie Taylor (2), and the Indian cricketers Deepti Sharma (0) & Dayalan Hemalatha (2*) hadn’t enough time to do much in that innings. In the end, Trailblazers scored 140/5 in 20 overs.
Among the Supernovas’ bowlers, left-arm spinner Radhav Yadav was the best bowler (4-0-28-2) who picked up two wickets. Also, the off-spinner Anuja Patil (1/12) and New Zealand medium-pacer Sophie Devine (1/27) claimed one wicket each. In the final over, Supernovas took three wickets, including one run-out.