Sharjah: Trailblazers will take on Supernovas in the last league-stage encounter of the Women’s T20 Challenge in Sharjah on Saturday (November 7).
The Smriti Mandhana-led unit will be looking to seal their second win on the bounce to march into the final while Supernovas will need a win to remain in the hunt for a place in the summit clash. In their first game, Trailblazers dominated the proceedings against Mithali Raj & Co. to seal a clinical nine-wicket win.
After Velocity elected to bat, the Trailblazers bowling unit went on a rampage. While Jhulan Goswami set the ball rolling and went on to pick two wickets, Sophie Ecclestone, the top-ranked WT20I bowler, scalped 4 wickets, conceding just nine runs.
Meanwhile, Rajeshwari Gayakwad too chipped in with two wickets as Trailblazers bowled out Velocity for 47 before Deandra Dottin, who scored 29*, and Richa Ghosh, who remained unbeaten on 13, took Trailblazers home without much fuss.
Coming to Supernovas, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led unit lost their first game against Velocity following some fine batting display from the duo of Sushma Verma and Sune Luss at the death.
Supernovas, though, still ticked a couple of boxes in that game which will serve them well in the second game. While Chamari Athapaththu scored 44, Harman contributed with 31, a knock which included two of her trademark maximums.
While a win for Trailblazers will end Supernovas hopes to reach the final, Supernovas’ victory will mean that the NRR will determine which teams will play in the finale.
The Squads:
Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (C), Deepti Sharma (VC), Punam Raut, Richa Ghosh, D Hemalatha, Nuzhat Parween (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Jhulan Goswami, Simran Dil Bahadur, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Nattakan Chantham, Deandra Dottin and Kashvee Gautam.
Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Jemimah Rodrigues (VC), Chamari Atapattu, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Shashikala Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Ayushi Soni, Ayabonga Khaka and Muskan Malik.
