Published: May 06, 2019, 10:59 PM (IST)
Edited: May 06, 2019, 10:59 PM (IST)
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur took apart Jhulan Goswami in the final over of the chase, scoring 16 runs, but Trailblazers held their nerve and registered a thrilling two-run win over Supernovas in the opening game of the Women’s T20 Challenge at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday.
Chasing 141 runs to win, Supernovas lost Priya Punia in the second over as Sophie Ecclestone gave Trailblazers their first breakthrough.
Jemimah Rodrigues then joined Chamari Athapaththu in the middle as the Indo-Sri Lankan duo added 49 runs at brisk pace. However, Trailblazers struck twice in quick succession as Rodrigues, who scored 24 off 19 balls, was run out and then Athapaththu got out for 26 off Rajeshwari Gayakwad. The left-arm spinner for the second time as Natalie Sciver perished for one.
Sophie Devine and Harmanpreet though kept their team in the hunt, with the former hitting 32 off 22 balls before being dismissed by Ecclestone in the penultimate over. While Harmanpreet almost pulled off a heist, hitting 4 fours in the final over, with her team needing 19 runs to win, Supernovas fell short by three runs as Trailblazers sealed a two-run win, with Harmanpreet remaining unbeaten on 46 from 34 balls. (ALSO READ: Women’s T20 Challenge a step ahead: Mithali Raj)
Earlier, Smriti Mandhana set the stage on fire with a 67-ball 90 after Supernovas skipper Harmanpreet won the toss and elected to field.
Trailblazers lost the New Zealand veteran Suzie Bates early as Anuja Patil struck in the second over to give Supernovas their first breakthrough.
Mandhana, though, denied the opposition any immediate success as she led from the front and put on a 119-run stand with Harleen Deol, who scored 36 off 44 balls.
However, Trailblazers could not finish their innings with a flourish and ended up with 140/5 on the board.
It was not an easy track to bat on as Trailblazers could only score 25 in the powerplay before Mandhana shifted gears and upped the ante.
While she could not score a hundred, the left-hander hit 10 fours and three sixes as she got acclimatised to the slowness of the pitch.
Brief scores: Trailblazers 140/5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 90, Harleen Deol 36; Radha Yadav 2/28) beat Supernovas 138/6 (Harmanpreet Kaur 46*, Sophie Devine 32; Sophie Ecclestone 2/11) by two runs
