Sharjah, (Samajweekly) The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas stormed into the final of the Women’s T20 Challenge with a two-run win over Trailblazers in the last league match. Despite the defeat, the Smriti Mandhana-led Trailblazers also advanced to the summit clash, as their superior net run rate was better than Velocity, the third team in the league.
After posting a challenging 146/6 wickets, Supernovas restricted their opponents to 144/5 wickets in 20 overs.
Chasing the target, Trailblazers witnessed a good start as Smriti (33) and Deandra Dottin (27) added 44 runs before Shakera Selman (2/31) scalped the latter. Selman struck again in the same over when she castled Richa Ghosh (4) cheaply.
Deepti Sharma (43 not out) then repaired the quick damages with a 35-run partnership with Smriti, who departed in the 13th over.
Dayalan Hemalatha (4) too, fell soon however, Deepti and Harleen Deol (27) ensured their side approaches home without further hiccups, stitching 52 runs off 29 balls.
Just when Trailblazers were four runs short of victory, with two balls to be bowled, Radha Yadav (2/30) turned the match in Supernovas’ way when she got the better of Harleen.
With four needed off the final ball, incoming batter Sophie Ecclestone failed to score the required runs and her team finished at 144/5 in 20 overs.
Earlier, Chamari Athapaththu’s 67 off 48 balls propelled Supernovas to 146/6 in their 20 overs.
Opting the innings, Chamari and Priya Punia (30) forged a crucial 89-run partnership for the first wicket before Salma Khatun (1/25) dismissed the latter in the 12th over.
Chamari, too, fell soon but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur chipped in with valuable 31 as her side managed to post a decent total on board.
For Trailblazers, Khatun, Harleen Deol, and Jhulan Goswami picked a wicket apiece.
Brief scores: Supernovas: 146/6 wkts in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 67, Harmanpreet Kaur 31; Jhulan Goswami 1/17) beat Trailblazers144/5 wkts in 20 overs (Deepti Sharma 43, Smriti Mandhana 33; Radha Yadav 2/30) by 2 runs
