Women’s IPL 2020: Race to the finals - Trailblazers vs Supernovas - Preview

The third edition of Women’s T20 Challenge (Women's IPL) is poised brilliantly as the Trailblazers take on the Supernovas in the third and final league match of the tournament. A hammering win over the Velocity means that Trailblazers already have one of their feet in the final. A win today would ensure that they would yet again square off against Velocity in the final. They might still go through if they lose, courtesy their superior NRR. The equation for Harmanpreet’s Supernovas is simple. Win today and play the final or lose today and go back home. The third team in the tournament, Velocity, would watch this match closely and would be hoping for either an easy win or a hammering loss for the Trailblazers. Both the teams are expected to come out with an all-out aggressive approach and with

a position in the final at stake, expect nothing less than a thriller.

Match Details

Who? Trailblazers v/s Supernovas

Time: 7:30pm IST

Where? Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Pitch Report

The pitch at Sharjah is expected to play slow as it did in the previous two games and anything around 150 would be more than a safe total to defend. The dew made life difficult for the bowlers and made batting a bit easier in the second innings during the inaugural match of the tournament. So, expect the captain winning the toss to bowl first.

Team News

Trailblazers: The Trailblazers started this tournament as the underdogs and are now sitting comfortably at the top of the points table. It almost a certainty that the Smriti Mandhana led team would reach the final. They can’t afford to relax though as a loss as big as the one they handed Velocity here, might put them in danger of a highly unlikely elimination.

Strengths: As was visible in their first match, their spin bowling department is too hot tohandle. With the pitch expected to play slow it’s going to be a very big challenge to play the spin quartet of Sophie Ecclestone, Salma Khatun, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma. If they fire in unison as they did in the first game, it could be a walk in the park for the Trailblazers.

Weakness: Their batting lineup wasn’t tested in the first match as they cruised to a nine wicket win. But on paper it looks like they lack firepower in the middle order and the inexperience might haunt them too. The onus would be on Smriti Mandhana to bat for as long as possible and Deandra Dottin to come up with the big hits under pressure.

Full Squad: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Deepti Sharma (VC), Punam Raut, Richa Ghosh, D. Hemalatha, Nuzhat Parween (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Jhulan Goswami, Simaran Dil Bahadur, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Natthakan Chantham, Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam.

Expected XI: It was a dream outing for the Trailblazers in the last match. Their bowlers steam-rolled the Velocity batswomen and the experienced Deandra Dottin and the oung Richa Ghosh finished off the match after losing Smriti Mandhana early. It’s highly unlikely that they would make changes in the lineup after such clinical victory, so expect the same team.

Smriti Mandhana (c),Deandra Dottin , Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Nuzhat Parween (wk), Deepti Sharma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Jhulan Goswami, Sophie Ecclestone, Salma Khatun, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Natthakan Chanthman.

Supernovas: The defending champions did not have a great start to the tournament as they went down to Velocity in a closely contested match. There is not much to worry for them as a win here would take them directly to the final, thanks to a better NRR. The previous match was a decent one for the women in blue until they run into a red-hot

Sune Luus. A bit of polishing in the unit and they might be up and running.

Strengths: On paper, their spin bowling department of Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Sashikala Siriwardene and Anuja Patil is the best in the tournament. Though Patil did not play in their first match, the other tree failed to keep a lid on the scoring rate which hurt them badly. These are world class spinners and expect them to hit back well. The form of Chamari Atapattu and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur would do them a world of good.

Weakness: Their pace bowling department looks a bit shaky but Ayabonga Khaka and Shakera Selman did extremely well in the first game. The Supernovas would need yet another clean game from their two overseas pacers if they are to enter the final. They would also hope that either of Atapattu or Harmanpreet bat till the end to provide some

fire power at the death which was lacking in the first game.

Full Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues (VC), Chamari Atapattu, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Shashikala Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Ayushi Soni, Ayabonga Khaka, Muskan Malik.

Expected XI: The previous game was a decent one for the Supernovas and so not many changes are expected. Though, with the pitch expected to be slow, there might be a slight temptation of brining in the experienced Anuja Patil in place of Pooja Vastrakar, who scored a duck and did not bowl in the previous match.

Priya Punia, Chamari Atapattu, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shashikala Sriwardene, Radha Yadav, Anuja Patil/ Pooja Vastrakar, Shakera Selman, Poonam Yadav, Ayabonga Khaka.

Where to watch?

The matches will be broadcasted in the Star Sports network on TV and can also be streamed online on Disney + Hotstar, if you have the subscription.

Also read: When Smriti Mandhana scored a double century in a limited over match