Twitter Reactions: All-round Supernovas outclass Trailblazers in opening fixture

The defending champions Trailblazers took on the two-time champions Supernovas in the first game of the Women’s T20 Challenge at the MCA Stadium in Pune. The Supernovas started their campaign on a high note, winning the match by 49 runs.

Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first. The Supernovas openers Deandra Dottin (32 off 17) and Priya Punia gave a fine kick-start to the innings, with the former taking charge of the game. Her power-hitting prowess came to an end when she got run out in the fifth over. The Supernovas top-order knocked 58/1 at the end of the six overs, which was also the highest powerplay total in the history of this tournament.

Soon, Punia (22 off 20) was bowled over by Hayley Matthews. Harleen Deol and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur steadied the ship and kept finding the gaps at regular intervals. It was the experienced Salma Khatun who sent Deol back for a 19-ball 35, giving her team a major breakthrough.

As Kaur (37 off 29) kept going, she could not find a stable partner at the other end as the Trailblazers spinners worked their magic with the ball. The innings saw a drastic downfall for the batters as five wickets came off the final four overs, with Matthews scalping two of them in the final over. Supernovas finished the innings, scoring 163 runs, the highest total in the history of the tournament.

Supernovas display brilliant efforts on the field to disappoint Trailblazers

Mandhana and Matthews were out in the middle for the chase, with the latter owning the game to start with. Pooja Vastrakar put a pause on Matthews’ hopes of going long in the game as she scalped her for a 14-ball 18. Jemimah Rodrigues walked in at No. 3 and joined Mandhana as the two smashed V Chandu and Alana King for multiple boundaries.

Kaur introduced Vastrakar back into the attack in the eighth over, and her strategy worked wonders for the Supernovas as the pacer scalped Mandhana (34 off 23) and Sophia Dunkley (1 off 2) in the space of three deliveries. Adding to that, Alana King cleaned up Sharmin Akhter for a four-ball duck and the Trailblazers were lowered to 71/4 by the end of the 10^th over. The situation worsened as Sophie Ecclestone picked two in two as Trailblazers were brought down to 72/6 after 11 overs.

Even though Rodrigues (24 off 21) kept going and played a composed knock under pressure, her innings did not involve much strokeplay and was soon dismissed by Meghna Singh. The Supernovas overpowered the defending champions and emerged victorious, thanks to Vastrakar’s career-best figures of 4/12.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Supernovas vs Trailblazers game