Smriti Mandhana’s Trailblazers hold the nerve against Supernovas at Sharjah to clinch their first Indian Women’s T20 title. The skipper Mandhana led from the front, scoring 68 off 49 balls, and bowlers did the rest of the job in the maiden title triumph.
Toss: Supernovas opted to bowl first
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Detailed Match Report
Harman backed her side to chase in Sharjah. Mandhana and Dottin started high for Trailblazers, and the duo added 77 for the first wicket before Poonam Yadav struck in the 12th over. The skipper continued the power-hitting and completed her first half-century of this tournament. Siriwardene trapped her after a fine 68 off 49 balls. After the wicket of Mandhana, Trailblazers lost the rhythm, and Supernovas formed a batting collapse with excellent bowling. In the final over, Radha Yadav picked 4 wickets and completed her maiden 5 wicket haul in T20s. Trailblazers lost 7 wickets on just 17 runs to put a mere total of 118.
Ecclestone struck in her first over to remove Supernovas’ star player Athapaththu. Trailblazers controlled runs and build pressure around Bhatia and Rodrigues. They couldn’t handle it and lost their wickets after a poor strike rate. Supernovas finished at 48/3 in 10 overs. Siriwardene showed some intent but required-run-rate pressure was giving her a tough time. The pressure made her playing a big shot, and Jhulan Goswami caught her on 19. With requiring 45 off 32, Trailblazers were on driver’s seat. Harmanpreet took charge in this chase and tried to repeat last season's final, but she couldn't. Salma Khatun put the final nail in the coffin after removing Harmanpreet on hard-fought 30. Trailblazers made this defense easy and clinched the maiden title by 17 runs.
Star Performer of the Match
Smriti Mandhana is our star performer of the match. The skipper made the full use of powerplay and fired from the very first over. Her knock helped Trailblazers to post a safe total on this surface. Mandhana scored 68 off 49 balls, including 5 fours and 3 sixes.
Top 5 players who made an impact in the game
Smriti Mandhana 68 (49)
Radha Yadav 4-0-16-5
Deepti Sharma 3-0-9-2
Salma Khatun 4-0-18-3
Harmanpreet Kaur 30 (36)
