Match 1 – Supernovas vs Trailblazers – Smriti Mandhana Quick-Fire Helps Trailblazers Beat Supernovas In A Nail-Biting Clash

Toss – Won by Supernovas and elected to bowl first

1^st Innings Summary – Put into bat first, skipper Smriti Mandhana and Suzie Bates opened up for Trailblazers and Mandhana hit Natalie Sciver for two fours in the very first over. Anuja Patil bowled a wicket-maiden second over as Bates perished early after being caught by Jemimah Rodrigues. Trailblazers were at 25/1 after first six overs of the batting powerplay. Smriti and Harleen Deol started opening up their arms in the ninth over and the second wicket partnership between the two reached fifty by the end of 11^th over.

Smriti reached her half-century with a beautiful four on the third ball of 15^th over and team’s scoreboard read 93-1 after 15 overs. The gears were shifted soon as Poonam Yadav was hit for the first six of the tournament on the fifth ball of 16^th over which also brought up 100 for the batting team. Fourty-four runs were made in four overs (16^th to 19^th) which included three fours and three gigantic sixes by the woman in-form. Meanwhile, 119-run partnership was broken Harleen Deol gave an easy catch to Radha Yadav in 19^th over.

Ms. Consistent! ❤️#SmritiMandhana #Trailblazers #WIPL pic.twitter.com/JwHzqSMxyC

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) May 6, 2019

Radha Yadav brought everyone on their feet with excitement when she denied a well-deserved hundred to the Trailblazer’s captain on the second ball of last over and then bowled out Deepti Sharma on the next ball for a duck. Although the youngster could not get a hat-trick but with her brilliant death over bowling, conceded just four runs in the last over.

2^nd Innings Summary – Trailblazer’s wicket-keeper Ravi Kalpana took a fantastic catch behind the stumps on the third ball of second over to gift birthday girl, Sophie Ecclestone, her first wicket of the tournament. Supernovas’ No. 3 batter Jemimah Rodrigues looked at ease and was hitting the ball well as the team scored 42 runs by the end of first six overs.

Eighth over was full of drama as bowler Shakera Selman was creating great catching opportunities but her teammates were not able to convert the chances and as many as three catches were dropped off Selman. Then, finally on the last ball of the over, the bowler found another way of taking wicket as she ran-out Rodrigues in a quick anticipation of opportunity and executing it all by herself.

Short while after that, spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad lured mighty Chamari Athapaththu to play a big shot and got her caught out by Harleen Deol at wide long-on. Sciver was the next one to depart with the birthday girl, Ecclestone taking a sharp catch as the batter’s struggle against spin continues. Sophie Devine and Hramanpreet Kaur played some very good shots in the middle overs and Supernovas needed exactly fourty runs in four overs to win.

In a series of catch droppings, Hemlatha and Ecclestone dropped Kaur in 17^th over and 19^th over respectively. But the turning point of the match came on the fifth ball of 19^th over when Devine was given LBW out and now the chasing team needed 19 runs from last six balls with five wickets in hand.

But with Harmanpreet Kaur on strike, the target was still achieveable. Mandhana showed trust in Jhulan Goswami but the bowler was definitely having an off day on the field as Kaur hit 4 fours in five balls. With just three runs needed off the last ball, Supernovas were just a hit away from snatching a win but Ravi Kalpana did a brilliant run out to ensure a thrilling win for her team.

Player of the match – Smriti Mandhana for her 90-run knock which included ten 4s and three 6s.

Other Remarkable Performances –

1. Anuja Patil (Supernovas) – 4-1-12-1
2. Harmanpreet Kaur (Supernovas) – 46runs (34balls)
3. Sophie Devine (Supernovas) – 32 runs (22 balls)
4. Sophie Ecclestone (Trailblazers) – 4-0-11-2
5. Rajeshwari Gayakwad (Trailblazers) – 4-0-17-2

Let us take a moment and appreciate Harman’s heroic ❤️ #WIPL #WomensIPL #Supernovas pic.twitter.com/PXxh8yRgn8

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) May 6, 2019

Brief scorecard:

Trailblazers – 140/5 (20 overs)

Supernovas – 138/5 (20 overs)

Result – Trailblazers won by 2 runs

Kanika Parineeta

‘Gully’ cricket player and close observer of Indian Cricket team and it’s matches. Straight forward and still socially admirable personality. Strong belief in teamwork and possess high leadership skills.