Supernovas beat Trailblazers by 49 runs in Women’s T20 Challenge opening match

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Pooja Vastrakar picked up four wickets for just 12 rounds in a superb bowling show as the Supernovas claimed an easy 49-round victory over the Trailblazers in a record-breaking opening match of the Women’s T20 Challenge here on Monday.

The 22-year-old Vastrakar claimed the share of Trailblazers captain Smriti Mandhana (34) and opening partner Hayley Matthews (18), Sophia Dunkley (1) and Salma Khatun (0) in separate spells to shred the batting line-up for the defending champions.

England’s left-arm crossbar Sophie Ecclestone and Australia’s multi-tiered Alana King took one wicket each as the Trail Blazers only managed 114 for 9 out of 20 increases during the 164 chase.

The supernova had earlier scored the tournament’s highest score of all 163 after picking the racket.

The Trailblazers got off to a solid start in their chase with Mandhana and Matthews putting 39 opening wicket runs into five overs.

But Vastrakar fired three kicks at the Trailblazer and left the defending champions in deep trouble.
First she clears Matthews’ share of the last ball from the fifth ball and then sends off the captain
Mandhana and Dunkley in a four-ball space in the eighth ball.

The wicket continued to fall in quick succession as Charmaine Akhtar (0) came out the next time as the duck was King’s first victim that day.

The Trail Blazers were hard to come by, as they got to 71 for 4 halfway. But two quick wickets in the 11th over over Bowled by Ecclestone nearly finished the competition. Ecclestone knocked out Richa Josh (2) with a second ball into the net and Arundhati Reddy (0) ran out in the next delivery as the Trailblazers looked in a hurry to return to the hut.

Harmanpreet brought Kaur Vastrakar to her second spell and the running lady got instant success by making Khatun to reduce Trailblazers to 73 for 7 at the end of 12 increases.

The asking rate was up over 11 times by then, and losing Jemimah Rodrigues (24) tried to make a match out of it but also fell 14th to Meghna Singh to extinguish any hopes of battling the Trailblazers.

Earlier, Supernova captain Kaur scored 37 from 29 balls while Harleen Deol and Dendra Doten scored 35 and 32 respectively.

However, they lost five stakes in the last two parts for just eight runs, including Kaur, in a dramatic meltdown.

Matthews was the Trailblazer player of choice with 3 versus 29 characters while Salma Khatoun got two for 30 times.

The supernova made a great start, reaching the tournament’s best-ever score in power play of 58 with opener Dottin (32 from just 17 balls) in ominous shape.

Dotin hit Renuka Singh for three of four innings in the third in which the supernova got 14 rounds. She, however, ran out in fifth while releasing a lot from her curls. I hit five four and six in total.

The other opener Priya Bonya (22) lasted a little longer before coming out in eighth place. Young Deol showed formidable form and played 37 times in the third wicket with Captain Kaur.

Matthews hit four straight times for eighth but couldn’t turn her start very high, exiting twelfth.

Kaur, who went out in the fall of Bunya at eight, bore the burden of fixing the ship on herself even though her side lost the wicket in groups.

Son Los (10 years) fell to Rajeshwari Giakwad (1/34) on the fifteenth day before becoming King (5) Nasib Khatun II on that day.

Vastrakar and Kaur exited in a three-ball space in the 19th minute before the Supernova lost another three points in the dramatic final.

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