Women's T20 Challenge: Supernovas beat Trailblazers by 2 runs

Supernovas prevailed over Trailblazers by a narrow two run margin to enter the final of the Women's T20 Challenge on Saturday night. The win for Supernovas meant that Velocity led by Mithali Raj was knocked out of the tournament.

After opting to bat, Supernovas posted 146 for six in their 20 overs. The key contributors were openers Priya Punia (30: 37b, 3x4) and Chamari Atapattu (67: 48b, 5x4, 4x6). Together Punia and Atapattu put on 89 for the opening wicket. Later, captain Harmanpreet Kaur (31: 29b, 1x4, 1x6) played a crucial knock to hold the innings together. Veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami (1-17) was the best bowler on view for Trailblazers.

The chase for Trailblazers was being fashioned by their openers Deandra Dottin (27: 15b, 4x4, 1x6) and Smriti Mandhana (33: 40b, 2x4, 1x6). Thereafter, Deepti Sharma revived the chase with a 40-ball 43 with five boundaries. She shared a crucial 52 run stand with Harleen Deol (27: 15b, 3x4) for the fifth wicket. That seemed to put the chase on track. But the final over by Radha Yadav spoilt the party for Trailblazers as they lost by a mere two runs to finish on 144 for five in their 20 overs. The best bowlers for Supernovas were Shakera Selman (2-31) and Yadav (2-30).

The final will be played on Monday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Match Summary - Trailblazers v Supernovas, 3rd Match, Women's T20 Challenge

Supernovas 146-6 (20)
Fall of wickets: 1-89 (Priya Punia-11.6 ov), 2-118 (Chamari Atapattu-16.2 ov), 3-122 (Jemimah Rodrigues-17.1 ov), 4-143 (Shashikala Siriwardene-19.1 ov), 5-145 (Harmanpreet Kaur-19.5 ov), 6-146 (Anuja Patil-19.6 ov)

Trailblazers 144-5 (20)
Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Deandra Dottin-6.3 ov), 2-48 (Richa Ghosh-6.5 ov), 3-83 (Smriti Mandhana-12.3 ov), 4-91 (Dayalan Hemalatha-14.6 ov), 5-143 (Harleen Deol-19.5 ov)

Result - Supernovas won by two runs

Scorecard

Playing XIs

Trailblazers: Deandra Dottin, Smriti Mandhana (captain), Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Deepti Sharma, D Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Nattakan Chantam, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami

Supernovas: Priya Punia, Chamari Atapattu, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Shashikala Siriwardene, Radha Yadav, Anuja Patil, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Ayabonga Khaka

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