The first clash of the Women's T20 Challenge 2022 turned out to be a one-sided one. Trailbazers suffered a batting collapse and could only put 114/9 on the board. Supernovas started off with a convincing win to increase their chances of reaching the final as they won the match by a big margin of 49 runs.
Good start
Chasing 164, Traiblazers got off to a fiery start. Skipper Smriti Mandhana and Haylely Matthews made full use of the fielding restrictions. Harmanpreet Kaur introduced Pooja Vastarkar into the attack and it did the trick. Vastrakar broke the opening partnership in the fifth over with the wicket of Matthews. The Caribbean batter scored 18 runs from 14 deliveries.
Vastrakar gets big wicket
Mandhana was looking to anchor the run chase but Vastrakar struck again to send the stylish opener back to the pavilion. Mandhana top-scored for her side with 34 runs from 23 deliveries. After Mandhana's wicket, Trailblazers suffered a major batting collapse. Jemimah Rodrigues witnessed wickets falling on the other end.
Batting collapse
From 63/1, they were 73/7 in the 12th over. While Vastrakar made Sophia Dunkley her third victim, spinners Alana King and Sophie Ecclestone got the wickets of Sharmin Akhter and Richa Ghosh respectively. Arundhati Reddy got out for a golden duck as she got run out by wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia. Salma Khatun struggled as well and got out for a seven-ball duck. The pacer finished with four wickets for 12 runs in her quota of four overs.
Running out of partners, Rodrigues decided to go on an allout attack. However, she got dismissed by Meghna Singh for a score of 24 in the 14th over. Poonam Yadav helped her side delay the inevitable. She contributed seven runs to the score. Tailenders Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Renuka Singh helped Trailblazers get the score past 100. Gayakwad and Renuka remained unbeaten for 14 and 7 respectively as Trailblazers finish the innings with 114/9 on the board.
Fiery start
Earlier, Supernovas got off to a fiery start after Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat first. Deandra Dottin was ultra aggressive in her approach hitting boundaries at will but a direct hit from Akhter ended her innings. Dottin scored 32 runs from 17 deliveries before getting dismissed. Her cameo included five fours and one six. After five overs, Supernovas had 50/1 on the board. Opener Priya Punia did not last long at the crease after her partner's wicket. Punia got bowled by Matthews.
Harleen’s cameo
Batting at no.3, Harleen Deol made an impact straightaway. She did not let the run rate dip and scored a few boundaries. However, she could not carry onto get a big score. She was trapped in front of the stumps by Bangladesh spinner Khatun for a score of 35.
Lacklustre finish
Skipper Harmanpreet looked in good touch too. On the other end, wickets fell at regular interval as Trailblazers spinners struck in the slog overs. Harmanpreet was looking to finish with a flourish but got run out after a mix-up with Ecclestone. She scored 37 runs from 29 deliveries including four fours. Supernovas did not finish well and got all out for 163. For Trailblazers, Matthews was the pick of bowlers with three wickets to her name.
