Women’s T20 Challenge 2022: Deandra Dottin’s 32, Pooja Vastrakar’s 4-12 and Hayley Matthews' 3-29 & 18 are top three performances from Supernovas and Trailblazers.
Brief Scores: Supernovas 163 (Harmanpreet 37, Harleen 35, Dottin 32, Matthews 3/29) beat Trailblazers 114/9 (Mandhana 34, Vastrakar 4/12, Ecclestone 2/19) by 49 runs
Player of the Match: Pooja Vastrakar (4/12)
Defending champions Trailblazers, who won the last edition of Women’s T20 Challenge in 2020, took on the most successful team Supernovas, who have two titles, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Monday evening.
Both sides have a 2-2 head-to-head record in this tournament, which is expected to be its last edition before a new six team Women’s IPL expected to start in 2023.
Supernovas captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first on a pitch where it’s not bad to bat first. While their four overseas players were Deandra Dottin, Sune Luss, Alana King and Sophie Ecclestone; Smirti Mandhana-led Trailblazers had put Sharmin Akhtar, Hayley Matthews, Sophia Dunkley and Salma Khatun as overseas players.
Superb Supernovas begin tournament with a heavy victory
Asked to bat first, Supernovas went off to a rapid start in the powerplay. Priya Punia hit the first six in the very first over before West Indies all-rounder, Deandra Dottin, with her five fours and a six, took her side to 50 in the first five overs before meeting an accidental run out. Harleen Deol kept the run flow going with her 19-ball 35 run knock to take Supernovas to 92/2 in 10 overs.
From that point, they kept on losing wickets from one end regularly as they were restricted to 123/4 in 15 overs. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur did try to extend the score with her steady 37 run knock, but Trailblazers bowled out their opposition for 163 in 20 overs.
However, this was now the highest total in Women’s T20 Challenge overtaking 146/6 by the same side.
Trailblazers began their chase with a positive intent with 39/1 in five overs as their leader Mandhana was leading from the front. She was dismissed on 34 with the team total at 63 in 7.2 overs. Since her wicket, Trailblazers fell like a pack of cards as they kept on losing wickets. From 63/1, they were restricted to 73/7 before losing last hope Jemimah Rodrigues on 24.
Later, Blazers were cramped on 114/9 in their 20 overs as Supernovas began the edition on a winning note by 49 runs.
Let’s scan the top performance from the game between Supernovas and Trailblazers.
Dottin destroyed opposition attack in the powerplay
There is no doubt how devastating West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been in the shortest format of the game. In 2010, she displayed her array of skills becoming the first woman to score a T20I century during a World T20 game against South Africa.
She also held the record for the fastest half-century by a woman in T20Is when she notched up a 22-ball fifty in the 2009 T20 WC; the record though was broken later. She has 2,681 WT20I runs in 122 innings.
Opening for the Supernovas, in just the second over of the game, she cracked her first boundary of the evening in the fine leg region before hammering Renuka Singh for two back-to-back fours in the third over. She ended the over with another boundary over mid-wicket.
Just after smashing a four off Arundhati Reddy, she powered Reddy for a huge six over the mid-wicket fence. Unfortunately, she was dismissed via a run out but her 17-ball 32 propelled Supernovas to 50/1 after five overs.
Vastrakar broke Trailblazers’ back with 4-12
Chasing 164, Trailblazers went off to a speedy start with 39/0 before Pooja Vastrakar drew first blood on the last ball of the fifth over, dismissing Hayley Matthews on 18 who got caught off a thick edge which was pouched by the wicketkeeper.
The 22-year-old right arm pacer from Madhya Pradesh coming into her second over, sent back opponent captain, Smriti Mandhana on 34; the left-handed batter checked her drive straight into the hands of mid-on fielder. Two balls later, Pooja got rid of Sophia Dunkley on 1 in the same fashion.
Vastrakar, who has 19 wickets in 22 innings at an economy of 6.35, in the last over of her spell had the better of Salma Khatun for a duck. She finished with figures of 4/12 in her four overs.
Matthews displayed her superb bowling skills
West Indies all-rounder, Hayley Matthews is a magnificent player in women’s cricket. Matthews has 1055 runs in 61 innings with a best of 107*, besides hunting 58 wickets in 55 innings at an economy of 5.94.
Coming into the attack for the Trailblazers in the sixth over, she went for eight runs in her first over before dismissing opener Priya Punia on 22 with a lovely delivery that with its pace went through Priya to disturb her stumps even before she could have reacted.
In three overs, she had 1/26 before being brought back in the last over of the innings. She straightaway got rid of Sophie Ecclestone plumb for 5. Meghna Singh was dismissed via a run out before Mathews picked up her third wicket in the form of V Chandu for a duck.
She gave away just three runs in the last over and finished with figures of 3/29 in four overs.
Coming to open the innings, she cracked 18 runs in 14 balls too that was arranged with two boundaries and a six, which was hit over the long on fence.
What’s to Come
The Supernovas will take on Velocity at the MCA Stadium in Pune on May 24.
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