The defending champions Supernovas kick start the Indian Women’s T20 2020 in Sharjah with an opening clash against the last year’s runner-up Velocity.
Supernovas will be led by Indian Women’s T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur while Indian Women’s ODI captain Mithalli Raj is leading Velocity.
Match Timings: Nov 04, 7:30 PM (IST)
Team Preview
Last year’s finalist's Supernovas and Velocity starts Indian Women’s T20 2020 in Sharjah on Wednesday. Both sides met twice in the last season, and both times, Supernovas had the last laugh. In last year’s final, Harmanpreet Kaur guided her side to the maiden triumph with an unbeaten 51. Due to Australia Women's T20 and COVID-19 restrictions, few Australian and English players will be unavailable for both sides.
Sciver, Devine, and Tahuhu were the important players for Supernovas, but Atapattu, Shashikala Siriwardene, and Ayabonga Khaka can boost Harmanpreet Kaur’s unit. Jemimah and Pariya Puniya will have a big responsibility in top order, and Sri Lankan star Chamari Atapattu can provide the acceleration in the powerplay. They have Radha Yadav and Poonam Yadav, who had excellent figures on Indian subcontinent pitches in the spin. Khaka has played a T20 series in India, where she had impressed with the new ball. She might be crucial with Vatsrakar and Patil in pace-attack. Supernovas are a balanced unit, but they have to look back at their Indian players to perform better. The big break after the Women’s T20 WC would be a challenging task for both sides to feature in any competitive cricket.
Meanwhile, Mithali Raj would aim for a title this year, after losing the final in 2019 on last-ball. Velocity looks a dangerous side with the finest overseas players like Leigh Kasperek, Danielle Wyatt, and Sune Luus. Indian opener Shefali had a fabulous form with the bat last year, but they are going to miss West Indian player Taylor on the top. Mansi Joshi has been ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19. In middle-order, Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, and Sushma Verma can bat. In last season, Jaipur hosted all the matches, and it was a pure batting wicket, so we could find Sharjah in favor of Velocity as they have the players who can play against spin.
Pitch Report
Sharjah’s surface is a spin-dominating track. The match will be played on the used surface, and on such tracks, we expect a low-scoring game in Women’s T20s. Women players generally don’t produce enough bounce, so both sides can try spinners from the first ball.
Possible XI
Supernovas
Priya Punia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Chamari Atapattu, Anuja Patil/Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia, Shashikala Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Ayabonga Khaka, Arundhati Reddy
Velocity
Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shafali Verma, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya/Sushree Dibyadarshini, Manali Dakshini, Leigh Kasperek, Danielle Wyatt, Sune Luus/Jahanara Alam
Key Players
Supernovas
Poonam Yadav
WT20 2020 – M: 5, Wickets: 10, Avg: 11.90
Shashikala Siriwardene
WT20 2020 – M: 4, Wickets: 7, Avg: 14.14
Velocity
Shefali Verma
WT20 2020 – M: 5, Runs: 163, Avg: 32.60
Danielle Wyatt
Flint Trophy 2020 – 53, 16/1 & 66
