Smriti Mandhana-led Trailblazers won their first match beating Mithali Raj’s Velocity in the second match of Women’s T20 Challenge. The bowlers of Trailblazers ran through the Velocity line-up and dismissed them for just 47 runs in 15.1 overs. No wonder Trailblazers won the match in just 7.5 overs with Deandra Dottin scoring an unbeaten 29 off 28 balls.
The presence of a top T20I bowler in the line-up automatically makes the Trailblazers bowling department one of the best in the tournament. Sophie Eccleston from England proved her worth and went on to scalp four wickets of Velocity for only nine runs in her four overs.
The match-winning performance saw her sending Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy in consecutive deliveries on the same score and then coming back to take the wicket of Sushma Verma in the 6th over. She even ended the Velocity innings by picking up the last wicket to bundle them up for just 47 runs.
Source: Twitter (IPL)
Eccleston worked on the momentum provided by Jhulan Goswami, the most experienced name in the lot. It was Goswami’s brilliant start with the new ball that saw Velocity losing Shafali Verma in the 3rd over. From 17/1, Velocity were reduced to 19/3, thanks to Sophie Eccleston.
Although Eccleston missed a hattrick, Goswami took the wicket of Daniel Wyatt on the same run, and in no time, Velocity were 19/4. Goswami eventually ended with two wickets for 12 runs in her three overs.
As the opening bowlers took care of the top order, Rajeshwari Gayakwad did her job by sending two middle-order batters for 0 (Sune Luus) and 4 (Sushree Dibyadarshini). Deepti Sharma, amid all these, could manage to take only one wicket but was the most economical bowler of Mandhana’s team.
Sharma gave away only eight runs in her four overs that also included a maiden. The 6th best T20I bowler of current times did her job efficiently to maintain the pressure on the opponents.