A place in final at stake as Trailblazers and Velocity clash

Trailblazers announced an exciting line-up of uncapped players, Indian stars and overseas signings for the Women’s T20 Challenge. But for all their star power, the defending champions faltered at the first step rather spectacularly. 

Chasing a reasonable total of 163, Trailblazers were off to a good start with openers Smriti Mandhana and Hayley Matthews putting 39 runs in 5 overs. They looked to chase down the total on a good pitch at the MCA Stadium in Pune when a sharp catch from Priya Punia to dismiss Mandhana triggered a batting collapse. Sophia Dunkley, Sharmin Akhter, Richa Ghosh, Arundhati Reddy and Salma Khatun all were back in the hut for single-digit scores as Trailblazers were left scrambling at 73/7 after 12 overs. Jemimah Rodrigues fought back with a 21-ball 24, but didn’t stay for long. The holders avoided a total disaster thanks to Renuka Singh (18 not out) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (7 not out) played out the 20 overs. A 49-run loss, the largest margin in the tournament, would’ve dented the team’s confidence badly.

Nevertheless they will take a lot of heart from their bowling performances against the Supernovas as they never allowed the opposition to settle down. Renuka extracted swing with the new ball while the spin-heavy unit clamped down on the scoring and picked up all 10 wickets.

Matthews was the pick of the bowlers as she got the key wicket of Priya Punia. However, their batting lacked a plan while taking on Pooja Vastrakar who bowled a stump-to-stump line that fetched wickets. Dunkley, Rodrigues and Mandhana hit through the air which was detriment against a gust of wind blowing across the stadium in the past two match days. The big three alongside Matthews need to come together if they Trailblazers are to beat Velocity by a big margin and flip their current NRR of -2.45.

Meanwhile, Velocity started their campaign on a positive note by outclassing Supernovas by seven wickets on Tuesday. Chasing 151, Shafali Verma was quick off the blocks with a patchy yet effective 51 off 33 balls. She offered an easy catch which was put by Deandra Dottin and successfully reviewed a LBW decision to get to her half-century. She looked unflustered by pace but struggled against the turning ball. 

Once Verma fell to a spectacular catch by Harmanpreet Kaur, Laura Wolvaardt ensured Velocity had no hiccups for the remainder of the innings. The 23-year old South African was at her fluent best in the match as she picked the gaps in the field and scored boundaries whenever bowlers went short or full to her. She used her feet effectively and practised restraint while hitting through her favorite cover region. This helped captain Deepti Sharma to play a good supporting role as they pair put up an unbeaten 82 off 64 balls for the fourth wicket.

Velocity will not be expecting another batting collapse from Trailblazers and will look to pile early pressure with Kate Cross in their ranks. The England pacer was excellent with her lines against Supernovas and used the short ball to great effect which fetched two top-order wickets in the game. However, Maya Sonawane and Ayabonga Khaka were expensive as Harmanpreet Kaur took them to cleaners on her way to 71 off 51 balls.

Key Battles

Shafali Verma vs Hayley Matthews: Verma will be the first key wicket any side will be looking for and Matthews knows how to get it. The Windies allrounder had dismissed Verma on three occasions in T20s. Mandhana will look to bring on the off-spinner as soon as possible in the powerplay to go after her Indian teammate. It would be a better option to give Matthews two overs in the first six and then two more in the middle overs as she is effective in running through the lower-middle order.

Jemimah Rodrigues vs Ayabonga Khaka: Khaka will certain open the bowling alongside Cross as the new ball had movement early on. The South African pacer has dismissed Jemimah, Trailblazers’ No.3, twice in T20s and conceded just 38 runs across seven innings. Deepti could bring in Khaka in the first 10 overs if the situation permits.

Probable XIs

Velocity: Shafali Verma, Natthakan Chantham, Yastika Bhatia (WK), Laura Wolvaardt, Deepti Sharma (C), Sneh Rana, Kiran Navgire, Radha Yadav, Kate Cross, Ayabonga Khaka, Maya Sonawane.

Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (C), Hayley Matthews, Jemimah Rodrigues, Sophia Dunkley, Richa Ghosh (WK), Sharmin Akhter, Salma Khatun, Poonam Yadav, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Arundhati Reddy.