Trailblazers (118 for 8) defeated Supernovas (102 for 7) by 16 runs in the final of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2020 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium yesterday to win their maiden title.

Chasing an under-par 118 for 8 after Radha Yadav became the first player to take a 5-wicket haul in the history of the tournament, Supernovas remained in the hunt while captain Harmanpreet Kaur (30) and Shashikala Siriwardene (19) were at crease but they lost 4 for 28 in the last six overs to eventually finish on 102. Salma Khatun picked up two wickets, including Harmanpreet, in 19th over of the chase with Supernovas needing 28 runs to win off the last two overs, to seal the deal for Trailblazers.

Earlier, Trailblazers were helped along by their captain Smriti Mandhana, who hit 68 runs off 49 balls, after Trailblazers were asked to bat by Supernovas at the toss. Mandhana and Deandra Dottin (20) added 71 for the first wicket in 11.1 overs to lay a good foundation for the rest of the line-up to capitalise. However, Mandhana’s wicket in 15th with score 101 for 2 brought about a collapse for Trailblazers as they managed to add just 16 runs in the last five overs while losing 6 wickets, 4 of which came in the last over.

Radha was the wrecker-in-chief for Supernovas with her miserly spell of left-arm spin bowling. She dismissed Sophie Ecclestone (1), Jhulan Goswami (1) and Harleen Deol (4) in the 20th over as Trailblazers failed to get any sort of momentum at the death. Radha finished with 5 for 16 while Poonam Yadav and Siriwardene got a wicket each.

In reply, Supernovas were 37 for 3 in the ninth over after having lost Jemimah Rodrigues (13), Chamari Athapaththu (6), and Tania Bhatia (14) before Harmanpreet and Siriwardene added 37 runs for the fourth wicket. However, Supernovas choked in the last five overs, losing 3 for 27, and thus conceded the match and their title that they had won for two years in a row in 2018 and 2019.

For Trailblazers, Khatun got 3 for 18, Deepti for 2 for 9 and Ecclestone picked up 1 for 26.

Yadav creates history

Radha Yadav became the first bowler in the history of WT20 Challenge to take a 5-wicket-haul when she finished with figures of 5 for 16 in 4 overs for Supernovas against Trailblazers in the final of the 2020 edition. She got 3 of these 5 wickets in the last over of the first inning that yielded just one run for Trailblazers.

Brief Scores

Trailblazers: 118/8 (Smriti Mandhana 68, Deandra Dottin 20; Radha Yadav 5/16) beat Supernovas: 102/7 (Harmanpreet Kaur 30, Shashikala Siriwardene 19; Salma Khatun 3/18) by 16 run.

FINAL

Today’s Match – (Nov. 10)

MI Vs DC – Dubai Intl. Stadium Dubai, 7.30 pm (IST)

Catch live actions on Star Sports and  Star Gold